Weeks after the release of one of the most successful movies of all time, Andrew Garfield is finally able to talk about the film he was rumored to be a part of for so long.
The 38-year-old made a surprise appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which features his version of Peter Parker/Spider-Man from Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man franchise returning for an extended cameo alongside current franchise star Tom Holland and another former Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire.
As fans of the beloved comicbook adaptation already know, Garfield’s last appearance as the hero in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ended with the death of his love interest Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone).
In a new interview with Variety, which was published on Thursday, January 6, the actor revealed that this plot point is what ultimately convinced him to join No Way Home.
“There was so many unanswered questions for my Peter, where we left it. I got to step back in and get some healing for him,” he told the publication.
A lot of that healing came from his character’s opportunity to save MJ (Zendaya), the love interest of Holland’s Peter Parker, as she falls in the final act of the new film.
The falling scene in No Way Home intentionally mirrors the one from the climax of Amazing Spider-Man 2, which shows Gwen falling to her death as Peter is just seconds late to be able to save her. In an extraordinary case of redemption, in the new film, Garfield’s character is able to save MJ in time.
“My Spider-Man got to save his younger brother‘s romantic relationship, potentially. And to heal the most traumatic moment of his own life through doing it for his younger brother,” Garfield told Variety. “Making sure that [Holland‘s Spider-Man] didn’t have the same fate, there’s something cosmically beautiful about that. It meant getting a second chance at saving Gwen.”
He went on to say, “I will say the image of my catching [Zendaya‘s] MJ — that was really beautiful and it kind of sold me on the whole thing.”
As for a potential future as Spider-Man in a new film, the star said he’s up for considering it.
“I mean, yes, [I would be] definitely open to something if it felt right,” Garfield said.
