Speaking in a new interview with The Guardian, Andrew Garfield has described his Spider-Man experience as “heartbreaking.” The focus on making as much money as possible and less on the soul of the beloved character is what led to a hurtful awakening for the actor, who describes himself as “a naive boy” at the time.
Garfield says; “I went from being a naive boy to growing up. How could I ever imagine that it was going to be a pure experience?” There are millions of dollars at stake and that’s what guides the ship. It was a big awakening and it hurt.”
He continues; “Comic-Con in San Diego is full of grown men and women still in touch with that pure thing the character meant to them. [But] you add in market forces and test groups and suddenly the focus is less on the soul of it and more on ensuring we make as much money as possible. And I found that – find that – heartbreaking in all matters of the culture.”
Andrew Garfield is giving no clues as to whether he and/or Tobey Maguire will be appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home, as has long been rumoured. Villains Doc Ock (Alfred Molina) and possibly the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) are set to make a return, however.
Garfield played the character in The Amazing Spider-Man films from 2012-2014, which were directed by Marc Webb (that name is still incredible) and with Emma Stone playing Gwen Stacy. The two films made over $700 million each.
Since leaving the role of Spider-Man, Garfield has returned to independent and arthouse films such as 99 Homes, Martin Scorsese’s Silence, the neo-noir Under the Silver Lake and he is currently appearing in possible awards-contender The Eyes of Tammy Faye with Jessica Chastain.
Spider-Man: No Way Home will be released on December 17 2021 and fans will be keen for glimpses of Tobey Maguire from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy, as well as Garfield.