There is a rumor that happens every once in a while. We all start whispering about Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield and then the same takes get repeated over and over again. That rumor is that they’re bringing back the former Spider-Man actors for some reason.
The most recent instance of this trend has been happening on social media. Screenwriter Mattson Tomlin, who co-wrote The Batman: Part II, reportedly posted that he was “trying” to reach out to Sam Raimi. And, according to fan accounts, Tomlin has reportedly shown an interest in a Raimiverse Spider-Man 4.
This bit of information had many online talking about the potential return of Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker in the Spider-Man 4 that never happened during his original run as the webbed hero.
Which brings me to my point: Can we please stop trying to bring Tobey Maguire back as Spider-Man? Before you jump down my throat, I am a millennial. I grew up with Maguire as Peter Parker and those movies changed my young life. They were the first movies I went to the midnight premieres for with my brother and they have a soft spot in my heart.
That being said, we have had two other Spider-Man adaptations since and both those actors are better than Maguire’s take on the character. Yes, sorry, but that’s my opinion. Actually, I think that Tom Holland is the best Peter and Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield nailed what makes Peter Parker special, and Tobey Maguire is a pretty good Spider-Man.
So the constant need for people to find ways to return to Maguire is exhausting to me. Even though I believe that Garfield’s franchise was wronged and he deserves another movie, I think we’re too far past that to go back. And I support that endeavor.
Tobey Maguire’s movies were not good enough to warrant this dedication
Let me be honest: I think the Maguire movies were good for what they were. Raimi was proving that a live-action Spidey movie could work and he was having fun with it. But that, to me, is not my Peter Parker. My beloved boy is goofy and nerdy and talks too much. That’s decidedly not what Maguire’s Peter is like.
His Peter is smart, sure, but that’s not why I love Peter Parker. I love how unapologetically nerdy and excited about it Peter is. It is why both Garfield and Holland’s performances spoke more to me than what Maguire did. Which is why I do not understand everyone else’s need to return to Maguire’s performance so badly.
Maybe I just love a more comic accurate/lore based approach to the character’s personality, which is why I tend to like those other performances more. But whatever the reason behind it is, I really do think we need to move away from constantly trying to bring back Maguire’s Peter and tell other stories in the Spider-Man universe. We have our Peter Parker still with Tom Holland but what’s great about Spidey is that it is not just Peter’s world!
(featured image: Sony Pictures)
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