Spider-Man 2 is my favorite superhero film of all time. Anyone who’s been within earshot of me during any conversation about cinema in general should know this. I say it loud and unapologetically.
And it’s not only because Tobey Maguire will always be my default live-action version of Spider-Man (though that’s true too). It’s also because of Sam Raimi, and his distinct vision for Peter Parker.
I hated the first Amazing Spider-Man, and I only barely liked The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Again, this actually has little to do with who was wearing the mask (most people agree that Andrew Garfield was at least fine, if not great in the role).
These movies just lacked the same depth and quality that we got with the first two Spider-Man movies in 2002 and 2004. And with Tobey Maguire getting on in years, it seemed like a great idea to just reboot the whole thing just five years after the disastrous Spider-Man 3.
And now we have a new Spider-Man reboot on the horizon. Marvel and Sony have officially struck a deal to share the same version of this character within both Marvel and Sony’s cinematic universes.
It’s exciting news, but it also means Andrew Garfield is almost certainly done with the role, and we have to start all over again. Again.
I would have liked to keep Andrew Garfield in the mix, and there’s still a slim chance he might. But I would much rather we come back to Tobey Maguire, and here’s why.
1. It would be more faithful to “Civil War.”
For what Marvel wants to use Spider-Man for, bringing Tobey Maguire back is actually perfect. Amidst reports that Marvel and Sony want to keep Spider-Man in high school, fans who actually read comics are getting frustrated.
We’ve experienced high school Peter twice now (seriously, I can’t handle Uncle Ben dying again), and Marvel is planning to debut the character in Captain America: Civil War.
One of the biggest reasons Marvel is bothering to make this deal (which they’re reportedly getting little financial value from) has to do with the fact that “Civil War” makes little sense without Peter Parker and Spider-Man.
Spider-Man’s role in “Civil War” is key because he’s the relatable center of conflict stuck between two people he respects. Its through Peter that we’re able to feel the real struggle between Captain America and Iron Man during their spat over privacy, a theme Marvel has been carefully building up with Phase II of the MCU.
And in “Civil War” (the comics version), Peter Parker isn’t in high school. He’s not even in college. He’s a high school science teacher years after first becoming the webhead.
That may seem like a little detail Marvel can just ignore, but it robs the story of a lot of the impact gained from when Spider-Man famously unmasked himself in public in order to support the Superhero Registration Act (and Tony Stark). But we’ll get to that later.
2. We haven’t finished Sam Raimi’s story.Â
Spider-Man 3Â ended with the death of Harry Osborne, but we have no idea what truly became of Peter. He might have married Mary Jane, and the death of his friend could have prompted him to hang up his mask for a while.
This would explain his absence during the Battle of New York in The Avengers, which could then explain why he’d consider becoming Spider-Man again.
It could be during this time that he gains the attention of the Avengers during the prelude to Civil War, eventually leading to his famous unmasking to a public that’s known him as Spider-Man for years.
If they reboot the franchise again, then this moment won’t be nearly as powerful. Any new Spider-Man they throw in there will just be yet another actor we’re not used to.
How are we supposed to believe that the public cares about this Spider-Man if he hasn’t really been around much? Marvel could make it work because they’re Marvel, but it would be a missed opportunity.
3. The unmasking would be way more epic.Â
Can you imagine if the guy taking off his mask was Tobey Maguire, the guy who’s been Spider-Man in most of our heads for the last 13 years? And think about the impact of having JK Simmons reprise his role as J. Jonah Jameson and witnessing this from his office at the Daily Bugle. It’s just perfect.
And it even works within the Sam Raimi timeline because Maguire could easily be a science teacher by now. Unlike a new Spider-Man or bringing in Garfield, it actually fits.
Of course, this would sort of work for Garfield, too, but it still doesn’t fit quite as well. Unlike Garfield, Tobey’s Spider-Man is the Sam Raimi version. He’s the guy we’ve actually seen a consistent, compelling story arc with.
4. Tobey Maguire is a better Peter Parker than Andrew Garfield.
Garfield did a great job, and he brought a faithful take to the character that Tobey could learn from. But Garfield was better at being Spider-Man than than being Peter Parker.
In contrast, Tobey Maguire nailed the character of Peter Parker. He was a lovable weirdo who never seemed comfortable in his own skin, unless he had the mask on. Garfield, by comparison, was never a believable outcast.
He spent most of his time charming Gwen Stacey and investigating something about his parents, or something. With Garfield, I just didn’t connect with him as Peter in the way I did with Maguire, which is a shame because, again, I had a great time watching him as Spider-Man.
5. Sony could still keep Garfield.
Rumor has it Sony still wants to do Sinister Six and Venom. So my conspiracy theory of the week is that we could also see The Amazing Spider-Man 3 with Andrew Garfield still doing his thing, while Tobey returns to the fold with Marvel. Everyone wins, pretty much.
But this is less likely to happen if Sony invests in yet another reboot. While many fans probably won’t like this idea, I think it would be great fodder for the “multiverse” dimensions and realities we’ve been waiting for Marvel, Sony, and Fox to dole out with their scattered characters.
Before I go, I do want to point out that yes, I think it would be interesting to bring on Miles Morales, the half black, half latino version of Spider-Man from the Ultimate storyline.
He’s a great character and would work great in his own movie, but I don’t think this is the right time and place for his story. If anything, it would make more sense to introduce him into the world already established by Marc Webb and Avi Arad.
Also, as big a fan as I am of Donald Glover, he’s just way too old at this point to be Miles Morales. Maybe in a different timeline, that’s not the case.
What do YOU think? Should Tobey stay or should he go?
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Great article as always! Completely agree with you that Tobey’s still the Spiderman in our minds, and that the unmasking would be epicccccc. Good way to give Spidey a backstory without making us sit through another reboot. Could be confusing for kids that haven’t seen the old (can’t believe I’m already calling it old) franchise though
That’s a small minority of viewers, though. Most kids will have grown up watching these movies atleast once. It’s like how we watched the Superman movies from the 70s decades later.
Exactly. I’m part of those little kids that grew up watching Tobey as Spiderman. Right now I’m 18 and I still remember him and would love to see him in action once more. Hell I even have the trilogy at my house and watch it once in a while.
Really? Because the guy never acted much like Peter from the comics. Not funny, not charismatic. Just a wooden inept stereotype
Okay….peter parker was never charasmatic, nor funny. Spiderman was a joker but only while the mask was on, which the raimi/maguire films pulled off. And Tobey maguire did a fantastic job of portraying the role of peter parker, unlike garfield who was trying to be perceived as a hipster. Hipster is not what peter parker was, he was a nerdy dork who had no friends and was never ever seen as someone who could be cool
Dude have you read a comic before. Peter was indeed charismatic. He was the type of guy outside if the costume who joked around, messed with flash, swindle Jameson, etc. maguire played a stereotype of a nerd. Peter parjer in the comics was never as dweeby as maguire. He never has this George mcfly personality. He wasnt the guy who gets picked on by the other nerdy losers abd bus drivers. Peter in the comics was more of a person. Maguire wasnt. He rarely talks, rarely emotes, always inept, and had that aw shawks golly gee personality. The guy was just terrible and overhyped. The fact that you said Peter was dweeby as maguire and not charismatic just indicated you have not seen the differences in the comics even in the ditko days nor any iteration just shows you know nothing about the comics.
Also garfield was never a hipster. He never acted like a hipster nor did he act cool. If you are talking about clothing then no, geeks today do dress like Garfield. In fact nerds and geeks do indeed wear Bernie’s and yes rude boards. In fact, garfiekd even write equations down on his board.
Have you even read the comics? I’m not talking Ultimate Spider-man I’m talking the original 60’s Spider-man comics which Sam Raimi & Tobey Maguire’s Spider-man was heavily based off of. Was Spidey truly that funny in the 60’s Comics? Was he charismatic? No, he was a dweeby, dorky, nerdy, outcast with financial problems, girl problems, but at the same time was a likable and believable character. He was relatable, that is what made Spider-man Spider-man, the exact opposite of that puffy haired, skateboard riding hipster emo kid in those other Spider-man films. People need to be reminded what Spider-man is truly about, by bringing Tobey back it would give the Marvel Cinematic Universe that every man character it requires to become complete.
Dude, what you just said made you a definition of a fanboy. The fact that you want a 40 year old maguire who is older than the avengers and is still stuck as the pre-spider bite mcfly just shows you are a fanboy. From my years of being a geek, watching geeks, hanging out with geeks, etc. I always know that some geeks are like garfield and others are like grant gustin.
Peter in the comics was a nerd and yes he was indeed charismatic if you read abd remember what he was like in the comics even in the earliest ditko, romita run and other writers like fraction, waid, bendis, stern, defalco, dematteis and Conway but no, you think Peter is the type of guy who gets picked on by everyone even the other nerdy losers and bus drivers. And has that George mcfly personality. There is a difference between being dweeby abd nerdy and being a caricature. Maguire was a caricature. He just stayed the same like his ore spider bite days. Just inept and goofy. Not charming nor expressive nor real nor believable abd the fact that you call things about maguire real just shows how much shallow and blinded by reality you are. I have been a geek with Low self esteem for years and I wasnt anything like maguire.
Maguire and Simmons were great together in Spider-Man 2! Bringing JK Simmons and Tobey Maguire back together would reestablish a great bond between those characters without needing to set up much.
Haha, I knew of all people you’d appreciate that part.
I don’t know, Toby never really delivered (in my opinion). First, he looked terrible in the costume. And second, his facial expressions were too weird, sometimes I couldn’t tell whether he was happy or surprised or just creepy, to me, he wasn’t Peter Parker weird, he was more like Creepy Guy Who Always Keeps His Eyes Widely Open weird. I agree that Garfield was a better Spiderman than a Peter, and I also agree that the next Spiderman shouldn’t be in high school. I once read about a certain director’s (can’t remember who) vision of a Spiderman movie, he said he would make Spiderman already there from the beginning and all the origin events (the bite, Uncle Ben’s death…) would be flashbacks, I think that’s what should happen. I am sick of seeing Spiderman from the beginning all over again, too.
Anyway, I think we all know who SHOULDN’T return…whispers Kirsten Dunst!
I thought his weird expressions were perfect for the loner guy that no one really gets. That just adds to his awkwardness.
No, it really doesn’t. It just makes it uncomfortable. It doesn’t make him any special like JGL, matthew grey gubler, Anton Yelchin, andrew garfield, and Daniel Radcliffe
This needs to happen. I’m glad somebody else thinks so.
Absolutely agree! Andrew was great… with Emma Stone, and that’s all. The Amazing stories were awful. Bring Tobey back and bring JK Simmons. Also, can we have Meryl Streep as Aunt May?
I am so onboard with this idea! I had a hard time wrapping my head around the reboot because he was amazing in the role (pun intended) and the story felt unresolved. Spider-man 2 is probably my top favorite superhero film too and I’m not ashamed, lol! It’s a brilliant film!
Tobey should stay!!!! I totally agree with you.
Buy the way, keep up the great job ! I enjoy reading the articles you write and always share them with my fourteen years old son, a huge Marvel’s fan.
Hi, Jon!
It’s me again. My 10 years old girl is upset because I didn’t tell you that she loves The Pixar Theory!! Since I mencioned her older brother, I had to tell you this.
We live in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, and the entire family loves everything you write.
Mirella
Love Tobey as Spider Man.
I’m gonna be completely honest here. I read the headline and my immediate reaction was, “NO! NO! NOOO! That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard!” I totally prefer the Andrew Garfield version to Toby’s. I related better to Andrew and I never thought Toby looked right in the suit (he looked a little chunky). BUT, I read your article and miraculously you won me over. I think it would be a clever little idea to bring him back. If Marvel/Sony did do this I would not be disappointed. It makes sense and they could totally make it work. HOWEVER, I believe most of the audience will be really confused since the franchise has already been rebooted with a new actor and a lot of them will also not accept alternate realities or “multiverse”. That was actually my favorite part of this whole plan you have though. I would love to see “multiverse” like it is in the comics and I even believe Deadpool would be a wonderful bridge to connect all the different franchises since he breaks the fourth wall. It’s just that the common moviegoer would be too confused about the whole mess. Wonderful article, you hooked me even when I came in hating it.
The audience would be even more confused if they rebooted it again. Bringing Tobey back is better than them rebooting it for the 2nd time in just five years.
The only reason I would consider watching Captain America 3 is if they bring back Tobey. If Andrew Garfield is in it I WILL NEVER WATCH IT. I’d rather read about the plot online than see him as Spider-Man again
No, tobey was a bad Peter and spiderman. Emotionless and wooden. Not having any confidence and not is a person.
Just imagine a post credits scene with Robert Downey Jr going to Pete’s old apartament and trying to open the crappy door and then wee see Tobey again and RDJ tells him bout joining the Avengers. This would be just PHENOMENAL.
that is absolutely the stuff of dreams!
That’s actually an awesome idea, but I’d love for Marvel to keep Spidey’s identity and actor choice a secret until his unmasking in Captain America: Civil War
I completely agree with everything you say!
I am 19 now, which means I belong to the generation of kids that grew up with Tobey Maguire in the role as Spider Man/Peter Parker. I cannot describe how glad I would be if Tobey returned to this role -for he IS indeed the true Spider Man, and an even MORE true Peter Parker 🙂
i want tobey to be the spidey……
he is the right man…..
The reality is this: Tobey Maguire is not a good actor.
Yeah, I also saw the first three Spidey movies, and I agree that the second one is just great. But when talking about the actors, Garfield definetly gets the prize.
Now, we don’t need another reboot, we need a new whole story of Spidey that won’t involve his origins again. But in spite of that, I think the version in Marvel’s minds will be very different from the one we can expect. Hopefully the Sony-Marvel deal is something that can’t be worse than a Spider-Man 3 or The Amazing Spiderman 2 movie.
Saludos desde México.
Haha, Tobey Maguire is one in a million, he’s a brillant actor who can easily bring depth into any character and who can show many facetts and make even scenes like going to the bakery interesting.
Garfield doesn’t even have a face, if he walked past me I wouldn’t recognize him.
Really? Because giving off blank stares abd rarely talking dies not make you a good actor nor is true to who Peter is. Maguire was just some stale actor.
I’ve been thinking this since I heard they were doing civil war,. it would be amazing if TM’s Spiderman came back,. it would be so easy to do aswell,. he could have retired because aunt may died or just because he was getting on and then when the registration act comes in Tony Stark could convince him to de-mask,. like someone else said,.imagine the post-credits scene with Tobey Maguire and RDJ!
SPIDERMAN RISES !!! COME ON!!!!
https://twitter.com/jj_blueeyes/status/567483509212979200
Tobey Maguire FTW!!!!!!!
I agree with every word! Sony has to see this. It makes perfect sense and Tobey Maguire as Spider Man is the superhero who made me interested in Marvel and the Superhero Franchises in general.
The Spider Man trilogy will always be my favorite, I still watch them today. The atmosphere and the feeling, it just works.
And it fits perfectly. And sorry but we’ve seen way too many high school Spieder Mans and The Amazing Spiderman was more like a really flat teenie movie, I didn’t even bother to watch the Sequel. And when I watched it I was a Teen, still it didn’t work.
The Superhero movies that really worked are NOT teenie movies and we finally wanna see what happens to Spiderman after Harry’s death.
Hell, if this happened it would be the greatest thing ever, really.
I normally don’t get excited over cast decisions as I accept the director’s and studio’s decision. But Tobey Maguire returning as Spider Man would be just pure Epicness.
Him unmasking in front of the public, that’d just be the best scene ever.
Let’s say Tobey Maguire comes back as Spider-man, for thought sake. They could put the Amazing Spider-man movies into the movie and Spider-man could say “Look, they tried making movies about me but they’re not as good as the real thing.” They did this in the Ultimate Spider-man comics where they’re filming the first movie and spiderman was watching. I think it’d be pretty funny. Most likely won’t happen, but still. Tobey Spider-man would say something like “They tried making movies about Spider-man’s life, but they weren’t that accurate.” You’d see Tobey Maguire in the movie theater, eating popcorn with Keirstin Dunst when the scene from Amazing Spider-man 1 comes on where Andrew Garfield is skateboarding. “Like seriously, I don’t even skateboard. I’d probably be good at it though.”
hey y’all sony and marvel…i don’t care what u do with stories of spiderman movies.I just want toby Maguire to be holding the spiderman and peter parker characters he fits in the role he looks better than andrew and also we can say from his face he is a good man while of andrew he makes me think like he is a very funny and also like a selfish person kidding peoples and then they turn into villans and also because of him gwen and his father died
so i say toby is eligible and infact deserve being spiderman
http://moviepilot.com/posts/2015/02/28/why-marvel-should-bring-tobey-maguire-s-spider-man-into-civil-war-2739119?lt_source=external,manual
Check this out, explains exactly how Tobey’s Spider-man could perfectly fit into the MCU!
Toby please come back…….. it was fun watching u as spidey….. n yes we all grew up watching him as spiderman so we want him back
tobey is our spidey, kirsten is our MJ, franco is our harry. enough said.
toby, kirsten, franco’s chemistry was undeniable on the first 3 films of spiderman. no all the character were in sync. aunt may, uncle ben, simons as Jonah etc. Deyr all perfect. raimi’s spiderman was perfect. No argument on dat. Never considred Amazing spiderman as spiderman. I mean c’mon, TASM 1 &2 is noting compared to the first 3 movies of spiderman.
well said dis article! we want da fourth one! just give da fans the spiderman we’ve been waiting for! we’re dying to see the orig cast(toby, kirsten, simons, etc) dey are perfect. raimi did a great job! the 3rd movie left us hanging here!
I thought the 3rd movie wrapped it up nicely…by destroying how good the first two were at least.