Oscar-nominated actor Andrew Garfield has responded to a rumor that he will return to play Spider-Man in Sony Pictures and Marvel's upcoming Spider-Man film.
Speaking to IndieWire, Garfield didn't say no directly. Instead, he beat around the bush, as he did years ago when asked repeatedly if he would star in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Of course, Garfield ended up starring in No Way Home, alongside Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland. As for the next Spider-Man movie, Garfield said people should question what they read on the internet.
“I mean, the Internet is a big place,” Garfield said. “I think there are a lot of people who will say anything to get clicks. You may have been fooled, I'm afraid.”
In July, Marvel boss Kevin Feige said that the next Spider-Man film was being written and that a draft would be expected “relatively soon.” Rumors quickly swirled that Garfield would return alongside Maguire and Holland to play a trio of Spider-Men, as they did in No Way Home.
In April, Holland himself spoke out about the future of the series. He said that a team of “the best in the business” was thinking about “whatever the story” is for another film. Holland said it was prudent to protect the legacy of the series.
“Until we solve this problem, we have a legacy to protect,” he said. “The third movie was so special in so many ways that we have to make sure we do the right thing.”
Prior to this, Holland had said that he had considered leaving Spider-Man and passing the baton to someone else to play the character. But Holland is keen to return for another film, provided the story is good enough.
“Whether or not we can find a way to do the character justice is another matter. I feel very protective of Spider-Man. I feel very, very fortunate that we’ve been able to work on a franchise that’s gotten better with each movie, that’s gotten more successful with each movie, which is really rare, I think, and I want to protect its legacy,” Holland said in 2023. “So I’m not going to do another one just to do another one. The character has to be worth it.”
Holland has starred in three main Spider-Man films so far, including Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Holland has also played Spider-Man in several Avengers films.
In addition to Holland's upcoming Spider-Man film, a Spider-Woman film is in the works and will be released “sooner than expected.”