Fans call for Andrew Garfield to return as Spider-Man

Let’s warn out of the gate, if you haven’t seen Spider-Man: No Way Home yet, there will be SPOILERS in this article for the worst-kept secret since Jon Snow got shanked by the Night’s Watch. We’ll give you an image break, and then we’ve got to discuss…

The verdict is in: Spider-Man: No Way Home has crushed it at the box office and satisfied fans the world over. For months on end fans speculated that former Spider-Men Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire would make their returns in this movie, and those hopes were validated when No Way Home finally dropped. The movie is a cornucopia of references and nods, replete with villains past and multiple Spideys teaming up for the must-see movie event of the year.

It’s hard to pick stand-out performances in a movie like No Way Home, but the one that has set the fanbase ablaze is Andrew Garfield’s return as Peter Parker / Spider-Man. Despite the fact that Garfield and Maguire’s characters primarily serve to support their younger Spidey counterpart, played by Tom Holland, Garfield’s Parker had his own arc within the movie as well. He’s a scene stealer whenever he’s on, perfectly playing a Peter Parker in the midst of an existential crisis who had lost everything — because remember, when last we saw Garfield playing the character, his love Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) fell to her death.

That happened in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which was always meant to be the middle piece of Sony’s reboot trilogy…but after a substandard performance and harsh reviews, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was scrapped.

But now, fans are calling for Garfield to return to the role and for Sony to finish out his trilogy. The hashtag #MakeTASM3 has blown up on Twitter over the past few days, as the fans try to get Sony’s attention.

Some are even taking it a step further, and pointing out that the crossover Sony has teased between Venom (Tom Hardy) and Spider-Man could happen with Garfield’s version of the character; that wouldn’t technically require Marvel’s input, since Sony owns the rights to Spider-Man characters wholesale. And after the end credits scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it seems like a far less outlandish proposition than it might have a few weeks ago.

On the other hand, some have suggested that the bus for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 long ago left the station, and we missed it…

Will Andrew Garfield return again as Spider-Man?

Whether or not we’ll ever get The Amazing Spider-Man 3 remains to be seen, but it doesn’t seem like a stretch to say that Sony is probably going to at least become aware of this fan movement. After all, large companies typically have people monitoring these kinds of social media trends, especially after a huge release like No Way Home drops. It worked for Zack Snyder’s Justice League…but could it work again?

It seems an especially poignant question when you also consider that as much as Sony might want Tom Holland to keep donning the spider suit, the actor has been reticent about whether or not he’ll be swinging into the next installment. Could Tom Holland’s Parker find an exit in the near future, only to be replaced by Garfield through another multiversal event? Or could Garfield return as the Spider-Man for Sony’s run of villain-centric movies, like Morbius, Venom, and the upcoming Kraven the Hunter film?

Only time will tell.

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