In May of next year, audiences around the globe will be introduced to a brand new version of Spider-Man, as Tom Holland takes on the part in both Captain America: Civil War and the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. This means that Andrew Garfield's tenure playing the webslinging Peter Parker is over - but what you may not know is that he had been fighting for some kind of Marvel Studios team-up long before an actual deal was made.
Garfield is currently making the press rounds in promotion of his new movie 99 Homes, and it was while chatting with Uproxx that he revealed his attempts to get Sony and Marvel Studios to pair up on some kind of deal. Asked if he would just be able to enjoy Spider-Man movies while not being a part of them, the Social Network star explained,
Exactly, yeah. And I’ve been petitioning to hook up with Marvel since the beginning, so I’m really glad they’re finally doing it.
Of course, when Andrew Garfield was trying to rig a deal between studios he was probably thinking that he would be able to continue firing off webs and leaping around New York City. Instead, when Marvel and Sony did agree to terms it was decided that a new direction was needed and that the Amazing Spider-Man continuity would be discontinued. Garfield told Uproxx that there weren't any conversations with Marvel about him retaining the role after the deal, and it sounds like he's still pretty sensitive about the whole thing. He said,
To be honest [pauses], all the ins and outs of what happened is a more tender conversation that maybe I don’t want to talk about in public in a press situation. But all I can say is that I’m stoked to go and watch a Marvel film of Spider-Man.
While the Amazing Spider-Man movies will likely be looked back on in history as a disappointment, the blame can't be squared on Andrew Garfield. The reality is that he actually made a pretty great Peter Parker - providing flavors not explored in Tobey Maguire's version - and was both charismatic and entertaining. It would have been nice if Marvel Studios had given him the opportunity to be Spidey in the MCU, but noting Tom Holland's age in comparison to Garfield's, it's pretty clear they were looking in a different direction for the character.
As noted earlier, the brand new version of Peter Parker/Spider-Man will be in theaters on May 6, 2016, featured in a supporting role in Captain America: Civil War. After that, he will be getting his own brand new solo film in 2017, starring in a movie written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein and directed by Jon Watts (Cop Car).
