Fans initially hated the Marc Webb Spider-Man movies. Since Andrew Garfield’s triumphant return as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home, they’re more invested than ever in his story. They’re now demanding The Amazing Spider-Man 3.
What’s changed? Garfield’s Peter Parker has officially joined the MCU. He swung into the film and, apparently, into the nit-picking hearts of even the most critical MCU fans. Now, Marvel Studios is paying attention.
Whether or not Garfield is ready for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 is unknown. Is he still bitter about how his contract ended? Is he psyched about continuing his trilogy? Does the Webb trilogy work without Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy? Put on your fandom glasses and let’s find out.
The Amazing Spider-Man
In 2012, Webb worked with Marvel to release The Amazing Spider-Man through Sony Pictures. It was a box office hit, pulling in almost $800 million and becoming the nineteenth highest-grossing superhero movie.
Andrew Garfield’s performance as Peter Parker/Spider-Man was critically acclaimed. Based on the reviews, the movie was bound for a sequel and The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was inevitable. There was only one problem: the fans hated it.
They didn’t think Garfield’s Parker was awkward enough. They thought he cracked too many jokes and came off like a jerk. Sony initially ignored these complaints on account of the financial success and positive reviews from critics.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 wasn’t so lucky. The 2014 movie received even more fan backlash as well as terrible reviews from critics. While it still performed well in the box office, it pretty much guaranteed Andrew Garfield wasn’t returning for The Amazing Spider-Man 3.
Queer potential
Yet, fans nitpicking Andrew Garfield’s performance wasn’t the final nail in the coffin for The Amazing Spider-Man 3. Many argue Garfield advocating for Peter Parker to be bisexual was what really ended his role as everyone’s favorite web-slinging hero.
In 2013, Garfield gave the infamous “Why can’t [his girlfriend] MJ be a guy?” interview with EW. He recalled talking to producer Matt Tolmach about giving the iconic Mary Jane character a gender change and making her a guy named MJ. He even suggested Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther) for this new role.
Garfield was insistent upon having Parker explore his bisexuality, but the higher-ups just weren’t having it. Marvel Studios & Sony Pictures shut him down and he was soon fired from the role altogether.
While Garfield ended up apologizing for his statements, he later explained such actions were forced by the studios. He described them as making him apologize so they could continue to make money from bigoted fans.
Rumor has it Stan Lee himself added a requirement for Parker to be contractually shown as straight. Thus, Andrew Garfield’s future in The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was no more. It seemed as if his part in the Spider-Man franchise had ended indefinitely.
Come back kid
Fast forward to a little movie about Peter Parker dealing with the consequences of being exposed as Spider-Man. Rumors started flying immediately when fans realized who could potentially make an appearance in this multiverse-centric movie.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse had already explored the meeting of various web slingers from the comics. Due to the movie’s success, Marvel made it clear very early on their intentions to recreate this theme with previous live-action Spider-Man characters.
Fans took to social media to speculate on who could show up. They debated over villains and past characters. However, the idea of other Peter Parker iterations showing up really sent them over the edge. This is where it gets interesting.
The same fans who hated Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker were now excited at the possibility of him returning. His actual appearance was met with so much excitement it started a #MakeTASM3 movement on Twitter, where they were actually making demands for The Amazing Spider-Man 3.
Changing tides
This change of heart might actually result in Andrew Garfield returning for The Amazing Spider-Man 3. However, Garfield has specified it would need to be a unique telling of the story for him to make a full comeback.
He’s possibly still feeling the burn of fan & studio backlash alike. He hasn’t said whether or not he still wants his Peter Parker to explore his bisexuality. Yet, ironically, Sony recently expressed an interest in the same. Even Tom Holland has expressed interest in exploring his Peter Parker’s sexuality. It seems like the queer stars are finally in alignment.
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Garfield may be ready to get back into the swing of things as Peter Parker. The fans may be ready. The studios may be ready. The bigger question is: are you?
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