Spider-Man: No Way Home featured many memorable returns, and one of them is Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man from The Amazing Spider-Man franchise. While Garfield's return was kept secret from fans and critics up until the film's worldwide premiere, the actor was making headlines in the weeks leading to the movie's release due to the fact that he kept getting asked about his then-rumored appearance.
Ultimately, No Way Home confirmed Garfield's return, thus putting an end to an endless back and forth between him and the press. Since then, the outspoken Marvel actor has spilled secrets about the threequel, starting with his admission that lying about his appearance was stressful yet enjoyable.
Garfield also revealed that he's "grateful" for the opportunity to return as Spider-Man after a 7-year hiatus, saying that coming back to Peter Parker gave him "a feeling of closure." The actor also shared interesting tidbits about the movie, such as his improvised line and discussing his beautiful moment with Zendaya's MJ.
Now, Garfield has once again opened up about the MCU threequel in a new interview.
Andrew Garfield Opens Up About MCU's Spider-Man Revival
Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield sat down as a guest on Josh Horowitz's The Happy Sad Confused podcast to talk about his initial concerns over Spider-Man: No Way Home's script.
When asked about his level of involvement when it comes to the journey of his Peter Parker when developing the script, Garfield admitted that they "kind of beat [him] to it" while also praising the fact that they were "very open:"
"That’s so interesting. The great writers kind of beat me to it. That was their first pitch. We like the idea of you… they’re very open."
Garfield then pointed out that one of his initial concerns going into No Way Home would be that his Peter would come off as too jaded, yet he quickly realized that his Peter needed to start by admitting his grief due to Gwen's death. The Marvel actor took note of that by saying that this approach "gives [him] a little bit of a journey to go on" in the movie:
"We like the idea of you having to have cut your heart cut off from [Gwen]… that’s what I understood anyway. That you have to cut your heart of [Gwen] in order to carry on doing the job of Spider-Man. That was the kind of [the] base note. I thought that’s really, really interesting, and then my concern with that was, ’I don’t want to be…' That gives me a little bit of a journey to go on. One of my main impotencies to be part of this is I want to have fun and I wanted it to be joyful. And then I thought, well actually then, that’s actually a great place to start from."
The Amazing Spider-Man actor then continued by discussing the strong connection between Peter Parker and Spider-Man, with him pointing out that the latter doesn't exist without the heart of the former. Garfield revealed that this was on his mind while filming, which he later expanded on with the writers:
"And it gives me this big hunger for connection actually, and especially for this brother connection across universes. And then I started going, if I cut my heart off, if I cut Peter Parker off, then it means my Spider-Man-ing would be suffering too. Actually, Spider-Man doesn’t exist without the heart of Peter Parker. So I was just taking that logic to the writers and I kind of ran with it, expanded it, And then, yeah, it was just a lot of finessing and fine-tuning."
Garfield then praised No Way Home director Jon Watts for pulling off that emotional rooftop scene with all three Peter Parkers, describing it as a "f*cking Spider-Man support group trying to save their brother from the abyss."
The Marvel actor continued by reflecting on the idea that Tom Holland's third film is actually his "origin story," admitting that it is another "brilliant reversal" for the MCU:
"Pretty great coup de théâtre that Jon Watts pulls off in that rooftop scene where it’s just a f*cking Spider-Man support group trying to save their brother from the abyss. That sh*t’s, cool. It felt very very powerful because, obviously, what Tom’s Peter Parker is going through at that moment is the heaviest stuff that he’s going through as a character. It’s his origin story that just so happened in the third film, which is another brilliant reversal, kind of irreverent undercutting of the usual formula. This is why this film is done brilliantly."
Andrew Garfield's Immense Passion for Spider-Man
Andrew Garfield's latest comments suggest that his passion for Spider-Man is immeasurable. Going through his remarks makes one feel that he misses playing the web-slinger after all these years and used No Way Home as an outlet to showcase his love for the character.
Garfield's collaboration with No Way Home's writers on the film's script also cements his passion for the character. Garfield's quote about the idea that "Spider-Man does not exist without the heart of Peter Parker" is a solid example of his love for the Marvel hero.
It makes sense that Garfield's first option is to have fun since he has this brother mentality due to the presence of the other two Peter Parkers. However, it was fitting that the threequel acknowledged his grief over Gwen Stacy's death, thus putting a close to that tragic chapter of his Peter Parker.
It's worth noting that the journey of Garfield's Peter was established from the emotional rooftop scene to the final battle. Based on the actor's comments, it looks like a good chunk of it was anchored by his collaboration with the writers.
Garfield's reflection that No Way Home, the third film in Holland's MCU trilogy, served as the character's origin story is an eye-opener for some fans. The "brilliant reversal" makes the MCU unique from previous Spider-Man franchises. It also allows a fresh outlook on the character's journey in upcoming films, such as Spider-Man 4.
It also fits with Holland's previous comment about him transitioning from Spider-Boy into Spider-Man.
All in all, it's good to know that Garfield had a heavy hand in terms of developing what was in the cards for his Peter Parker in the movie, and this sets a good precedent for his potential future appearance as the web-slinger down the line.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters worldwide.
