Tobey Maguire, who portrayed Spider-Man in live-action in the early 2000s, has held a record for 19 years that will soon be broken by Tom Holland when Spider-Man: Brand New Day is released in theaters. Three major actors have played Spider-Man since Sam Raimi's first film was released in 2002. Many fans debate which actor played the character best, but Holland is about to do something that no other Spider-Man actor has done before.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to be released in theaters on July 31. Once the movie debuts, that means Holland will have portrayed Spider-Man and Peter Parker for nine years, as he first began portraying the character in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming. Notably, Holland will surpass Tobey Maguire for the most years playing Spider-Man in live action in a leading role in a Spider-Man film.
Maguire previously held this record as he played Spider-Man and Peter Parker from 2002 until 2007, meaning he was the web slinger for five years. As mentioned, Holland first led a Spider-Man movie in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming. He then went on to reprise the role in 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home and 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home.
So, between 2017 and 2021, Holland portrayed the character in a leading role for four years. However, now that he is coming back in 2026 for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and will be leading that film, that means he will break Maguire's record of leading a Spider-Man movie for five years, as he will have led four Spider-Man films across a nine-year period.
With the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Holland will have been the lead of live-action Spider-Man films longer than any other main Spider-Man actor (Maguire and Andrew Garfield). However, it is worth noting that he will not have played the character for a longer overall period than either of those actors, as their appearances in Spider-Man: No Way Home extended their time playing the web-slinger. For instance, Maguire previously played Spider-Man for five years, but after he showed up in No Way Home, he technically appeared as the character across 19 years.
During Garfield's initial run, he only played the character for two years (from 2012 to 2014), but his return in the 2021 film moved him to nine years. Now, their overall times could be extended yet again if either of them has roles in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars.
It is also worth noting that Maguire was originally set to play Spider-Man for longer than he did. Sam Raimi (the director of Maguire's trilogy) had plans to make a fourth film alongside Sony and Columbia Pictures, but, essentially, things just fell apart, and that movie never took shape. After Maguire came back in No Way Home, rumors started stirring again that the movie could be back on the table, but that wasn't the case. If he had been able to continue, it is possible that he could still hold the record for the longest amount of time as the lead in Spider-Man films.
No one knows how long Holland will continue to play Spider-Man. Previously, he stated that he would eventually like to pass the torch to another actor, but when that will be is unclear. Marvel could still introduce Miles Morales to the MCU and create a dynamic between him and Peter, and Miles' actor could be the one Holland gives the baton to. However, it is also possible that, if the MCU does go through a bit of a reboot after Secret Wars, another actor could play Peter Parker in the MCU.
Tom Holland Vs. Tobey Maguire: Who Is the Bigger Spider-Man?
As mentioned, fans often debate who the biggest and best Spider-Man actor is, and which version of the character is the most intriguing. All three main actors can make a case for being the best, but it is really between Maguire and Holland for who is the biggest and most impactful, since they have had the most appearances.
When looking at how many times each actor has appeared in total, Holland takes that round pretty easily. Because he is in the MCU, Holland's Spider-Man has appeared in non-Spider-Man movies, such as Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Counting Brand New Day, Holland has popped up in seven total projects.
Maguire, on the other hand, has only been in his three films and Spider-Man: No Way Home, meaning he has four total appearances. If you want to get technical, Holland's Peter also popped up on a TV screen during the post-credits scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, giving him another notch in that category.
The MCU is the biggest movie franchise of all time, and of every Spider-Man movie to be released, No Way Home is, by far, the biggest. Notably, in terms of box office numbers, Holland's second solo film, Far From Home, is the next biggest. Holland is the only Spider-Man actor to have a movie hit $1 billion at the worldwide box office, and it actually happened on two occasions. So, in terms of money, Holland also has an edge over Maguire.
However, it is not a stretch at all to say that Maguire's Spider-Man was, by far, the most influential. Without Maguire's portrayal of Peter Parker and Sam Raimi's films, comic book movies as a whole, and especially the MCU, would not be where they are today. Much like Hugh Jackman and his portrayal of Wolverine in the X-Men franchise, Maguire was a pioneer for modern superhero films, and his Spider-Man proved that the genre could be successful if done the right way.
So, Holland may have more financial success with his films and have more appearances, but Maguire is undoubtedly more influential. Therefore, it seems as though the two actors are pretty even when it comes to who the bigger Spider-Man is.
