Spider-Man 4 is still a ways away, but we’re starting to get updates on it. Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton is reportedly in talks to direct, and Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers will write the script. But what will the story be about? That’s the big question.
How do you pick up where No Way Home left off? It was a huge financial and critical hit, and that’s because it gave fans something they desperately wanted to see. The movie saw the Spider-Men of the two previous Spider-Man film franchises, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, return for a big final battle against their former villains. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, got a chance to form a friendship with his alternate selves. It was a thrilling experience for those who loved the Tobey Maguire movies, and possibly even more of one for fans of Andrew Garfield’s Spidey, as he’s considered to be rather hard done by.
Andrew Garfield only got two outings as Spider-Man, in The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Film number one is fine but nothing to write home about, while number two is packed to the brim with terrible choices. (Killing off your leading lady in the second film? Really?) It was slammed by a lot of critics and is considered one of the worst Marvel movies of its era. But the quality of the films have nothing to do with Garfield himself, who was a shining light in both of them and the perfect Peter Parker.
Fans were delighted that No Way Home gave Garfield a chance to divorce himself from the damp squib that the Amazing franchise turned out to be. He was the ultimate crowd-pleaser in that movie, and many people came away with him as their new favorite Spidey. Tears were even shed in the scene where he saved MJ (Zendaya) the way he couldn’t save his own true love. So now the question needs to be asked … Is Disney going to capitalize on the Garfield appreciation by bringing him back in Spider-Man 4?
Well, a lot of Spidey fans hope that the answer is no. They do not want another multiverse movie. No Way Home was so good because it was a special one-off, everyone’s only chance to see three Spider-Men together onscreen. Bringing Andrew Garfield back would be a case of diminishing returns, and it seems Garfield thinks so, too. He told IndieWire recently that people who believed he was coming back “might have been duped, I’m afraid.” And let’s hope that this time—remember how he claimed he wasn’t in No Way Home?—he’s telling the truth. There is simply no need for more Garfield-Spidey.
His story may have some loose ends—Peter never did find Uncle Ben’s killer—but nonetheless, it’s done. We’ve seen Garfield’s Peter Parker lose his beloved, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), and then redeem himself by saving MJ. We’ve seen him be hit by the worst life has to offer and still remain a good-hearted person. There’s nowhere else his arc could satisfactorily go. It’s time for the MCU to concentrate on only one Peter Parker going forward: Tom Holland. He’s already had to share the spotlight too much, first with Tony Stark and then with the other Spideys. Why not give him a low-stakes, street-level movie and see what he can do?
Oh, and Tobey Maguire shouldn’t return, either.
Published: Sep 11, 2024 03:03 pm