One of the ways Spider-Man distinguished himself from other superheroes when he was introduced in 1962’s Amazing Fantasy #15 was that he kicked off his superhero career as a teenager, and unlike others around his age fighting crime, he was the star of the show rather than a sidekick. So naturally, the cinematic versions of Peter Parker have also started masking up as this stage of their lives too. However, because Tobey Maguire was months away from turning 26 when he shot Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie, it’s safe to say he didn’t look like your average high schooler.
But thanks to some digital wizardry, now we can envision what it would be like if Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker was de-aged and looked like he was in his late teens-early 20s during the original Spider-Man trilogy. Check out this post shared by Reddit user CesarHuchim:
from r/
Oh yeah, now there’s a Peter Parker who actually looks like he’s about to graduate high school when he was bitten by the genetically-altered spider, followed by spending his college years fighting crime as Spider-Man. Still, Tobey Maguire isn’t the only actor who was cast to play the Web-Slinger at a much younger age than he actually was. Andrew Garfield was also 26 when he was cast to lead The Amazing Spider-Man, and 27 by the time it began shooting. Still, it can be debated whether or not Garfield looked like he fit in a high school environment more than Maguire.
In any case, nowadays Spider-Man is being played in live-action by Tom Holland, and having scored the role for Captain America: Civil War when he was 19 years old, he was definitely a more appropriate choice to play someone in the middle of high school. That’s good, because unlike the prior two Spider-Man film series, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home emphasized Peter’s life as a high schooler. Spider-Man: No Way Home looks like it will do the same given the return of some of his classmates and teachers from Midtown School of Science and Technology, but with so much multiversal craziness expected for the threequel, it’s possible Peter will be spending even less time within that school setting/social hierarchy.
Speaking of which, along with it being confirmed that Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina will reprise Electro and Doctor Octopus, respectively, there’s been a lot of talk how we’ll also reunite with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Now to be up front, Garfield has denied he’s in the movie, and Holland also debunked the rumor. Nevertheless, speculation is still running rampant that deception is afoot, and that we will indeed see these Spider-Men from elsewhere in the multiverse. Of course, at this point we don’t need to worry about either men looking high school-aged anymore, as Maguire’s Peter would be in his late 30s or early 40s by now, and Garfield’s Peter would be in his late 20s or early 30s.
We’ll find out what’s really going on in Spider-Man: No Way Home when it hits theaters on December 17. In the meantime, catch up to speed on what else the MCU has coming up with our upcoming Marvel movies guide.
