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Andrew Garfield Has The Perfect Idea For His Potential Spider-Man Return

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | October 3, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | October 3, 2024 |


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If you’ve seen one superhero movie, you’ve seen them all. Yes, that is a bit of a generalization, but the core of the argument is solid. Many superhero movies follow a formula. It is a successful one, but it is repetitive regardless. Person gets powers or goes through a traumatic event. Person vows to fight evil with their powers or because of the traumatic event. Person fights bad person with similar powers or who caused the trauma, saves day, song by Chad Kroeger but not the rest of Nickelback plays (okay, the last one may be more specific).

Sometimes those elements are mixed up and you get something more inventive, but that is rare. Even superhero films that are geared toward an adult audience or are pitched as being other movies (how many times has the MCU claimed they’ve produced a political thriller at this point?) still end up falling into the tropes and traps of your standard, formulaic superhero adventure. It’s not that it is a good or bad thing, it just is. That is the overarching state of superhero movies and they are a large percentage of movies released.

Audiences are seemingly okay with the repetitive nature of the genre. Most superhero films being released do well at the box office. It isn’t a guarantee, nor is it as likely as it was five or six years ago. Regardless, people still like to go see people wear armored spandex and fight villains. With the DCU entering its new phase and Marvel doing everything it can to keep its train rolling, the superhero movie craze may have no end in sight. Especially if companies continue to take what’s old and try to make it new again.

You may have noticed that many stars from the 80s, 90s, and early aughts are being repackaged to appeal to a whole new generation. This trend isn’t specific to superhero movies. Michael Keaton dusted off (or just covered with dust) his black and white striped suit to return as Beetlejuice last month to much success. He also got back into his cape and cowl to play Batman in The Flash last year (and two other times that will never be seen). But this isn’t just a Michael Keaton thing. The most successful example of this trend, which also may have helped start it, includes Tobey McGuire and Andrew Garfield.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Spider-Man: No Way Home made over a billion dollars at the box office during the new wave of a pandemic. People, myself included, put their health at risk to see a surprise they likely already knew. It was heavily rumored that Garfield and McGuire would be appearing in Tom Holland’s third Spider-Man film. Those rumors turned out to be true, and the result was one of the MCU’s best efforts. It did well critically, and financially, and brought long overdue respect to Garfield’s version of the character, as his had been, arguably, the least successful.

Garfield’s take on Peter Parker is fantastic because he is an incredible actor. All three of them are, but Garfield is a cut above the others. You can see it, not just in the projects he gravitates towards, but even in his performance in No Way Home. He’s got the goods, and people have been hungry for his return to be more than a one-off. New rumors have even emerged that he will appear in Avengers: Doomsday. While he wasn’t specific on what capacity, Garfield made it clear to Esquire that he is open to another go in the tights.

“For sure, I would 100 percent come back if it was the right thing, if it’s additive to the culture, if there’s a great concept or something that hasn’t been done before that’s unique and 
odd and exciting and that you can sink your teeth into,” Garfield told the outlet. “I love that character, and it brings joy. If part of what I bring is joy, then I’m joyful in return.” First off, how sweet is this man? We’ve seen how open and emotional Garfield can be, so when he says he likes bringing joy to people, I believe him.

I also believe that he is on the money with his return requirements. As I mentioned, superhero films can be a bit formulaic. No Way Home, while not entirely different, broke up that formula at least a bit. Hell, it technically works as the ninth entry in a series. It mixed some things up and provided catharsis for moments that happened in another set of movies. It’s wild, and against all odds, it works. If Garfield needs something else on that level to get those web shooters back on, not only do I think that’s reasonable, but I think Marvel should be setting it up (if they haven’t already).