Peter Benjamin Parker, also known by his alias Spider-Man, is a fictional character and the protagonist of Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man film series. Adapted from the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name, he is portrayed by Andrew Garfield and appears in the films The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, as well as being a supporting character in the Marvel Studios film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing as an older version of himself alongside two alternate versions of himself from the wider multiverse.
Garfield's version of the character is a successor to the version of Peter Parker portrayed by Tobey Maguire in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007) and a predecessor to the version of Peter Parker portrayed by Tom Holland in the MCU (2016–present), who both appeared as their versions of Spider-Man alongside Garfield in No Way Home. To distinguish him from the other two Spider-Men, he is nicknamed "Peter-Three" by his counterparts in the film, and is referred to by Marvel's official website as The Amazing Spider-Man, and by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers in the screenplay as "Webb-verse Peter" and "Webb-verse Spider-Man".
Garfield's iteration of the character had some differences in personality from the Spider-Man of the previous film series, being more of an angst-ridden loner haunted by his actions. The narrative of the duology centers around Parker struggling to maintain his double-life as Spider-Man and relationship with fellow student Gwen Stacy, whose death at the hands of his former friend Harry Osborn he believes himself responsible for. The narrative also focuses on Parker seeking to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of his parents Richard and Mary, who left him in the care of his aunt and uncle as a child, alongside the nature of his father's work at Oscorp. In No Way Home this portrayal was abandoned in order to depict Parker as a tortured individual who learns to let go of the emotional pain of Gwen's death and forgive himself after meeting two other versions of himself.
Garfield's portrayal of Parker received very positive responses and is commonly seen as a highlight of The Amazing Spider-Man series. His chemistry with Emma Stone has also been widely praised. Since Garfield's appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans have launched a campaign for the cancelled The Amazing Spider-Man 3 to be made.
Development and execution Previous films and rebooting Spider-Man
Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Man, first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy No. 15 (Aug. 1962) in the Silver Age of Comic Books, later becoming one of Marvel Comics' most popular superheroes and gaining his own comic series, titled The Amazing Spider-Man. He was eventually adapted to film and television numerous times. Prior to the release of the 2012 Amazing Spider-Man film, the preceding big-budget film series based on the character saw Tobey Maguire take on the role of Peter Parker / Spider-Man, with three films released by Columbia Pictures: Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, and Spider-Man 3, which were released between 2002 and 2007.
Following the release of Spider-Man 3, Sony Pictures Entertainment had announced a May 5, 2011, release date for Sam Raimi's next film in the series. By this time, screenwriters James Vanderbilt, David Lindsay-Abaire, and Gary Ross had all written rejected versions of a script and Ziskin's husband Alvin Sargent, who wrote the second and third films, was working on yet another attempt. However, on January 11, 2010, Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced that rather than continue the earlier saga, they were rebooting the series with a new cast and crew. Industry reports claimed that Raimi had admitted that he could not meet the scheduled release date and retain creative integrity. Includes separate full text of Columbia / Marvel Studios press release. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and Ziskin continued as producers.
The week after Raimi's departure, the studio announced that Marc Webb, whose previous film 500 Days of Summer was his directorial debut, would direct the reboot.Untitled Columbia Pictures / Marvel Studios press release via Deadline Hollywood (January 19, 2010). Retrieved June 7, 2012. Tolmach, having been made president of Columbia Pictures and Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said they were looking for a director who could give "sharp focus" to Parker's civilian life. Despite initially being hesitant due to the cultural impact of the previous films, Webb accepted the offer. Webb stated in a press release that he did not intend to replace Raimi, instead saying that he sought to take the opportunity to add "...ideas, stories, and histories that will add a new dimension, canvas, and creative voice to Spider-Man". Webb compared Spider-Man to the James Bond franchise, saying that there was "...so much material in Spider-Man that there are so many stories to tell and so many characters". He denied that the film was a remake, explaining that they were envisioned as being a "different universe and a different story with different characters".
Casting
British-American actor Andrew Garfield was cast as Peter Parker/Spider-Man for the 2012 film and its sequel, with his casting being officially made on July 1, 2010. Other actors considered for the role were Jamie Bell, Alden Ehrenreich, Frank Dillane, and Josh Hutcherson. Webb stated he knew Garfield was the right choice after filming him in a cutscene eating a cheeseburger while trying to calm Gwen Stacy down. On accepting the role Garfield explained, "I see it as a massive challenge in many ways... To make it authentic. To make the character live and breathe in a new way. The audience already has a relationship with many different incarnations of the character. I do, as well. I'm probably going to be the guy in the movie theater shouting abuse at myself. But I have to let that go. No turning back. And I wouldn't want to." Max Charles plays a young Peter Parker in the film, with Webb stating that a young Peter was needed to "explain the origins of Peter Parker" and not just Spider-Man. After taking the role, Garfield studied the movements of athletes and spiders, and tried to incorporate them, saying Parker is "a boy/spider in terms of how he moves, and not just in the suit". He did yoga and Pilates for the role to be as flexible as possible. When first wearing his costume, Garfield admitted to shedding tears and trying to imagine "a better actor in the suit", which he described as "uncomfortable" and admitted to wearing nothing beneath it since it is skintight. Garfield also performed some of his own stunts in the film. When filming Garfield explained that he had four months of training and described his physical roles on stunts as terribly challenging and exhausting. Film producer Avi Arad explained that "Andrew is not only a brilliant actor but he is a sportsman. This gave us the opportunity to try things with him that were it not so it would have been almost impossible."Video interview at Accompanying text only June 7, 2012. English-language video originally at
Following the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Garfield was allegedly let go of the role after failing to appear for a crucial appearance, according to documents released in the aftermath of the 2014 Sony Pictures hack. Other reasons cited included creative differences with Sony Pictures management and a failure to adapt to Hollywood culture. In addition, the second film saw mixed reviews and a franchise-low in box-office revenue. After leaked information from the hack also indicated Sony to be in talks to have Sam Raimi direct Spider-Man vs. The Amazing Spider-Man, a multiversal crossover film featuring Garfield's Spider-Man encounter Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man, as well as a new trilogy starring Maguire; and to also be in talks with Marvel Studios about integrating a rebooted version of Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), beginning with Captain America: Civil War (2016), a deal was reached in early 2015 between the two studios to make the latter official, effectively cancelling The Amazing Spider-Man franchise.
Despite the reboot of the Spider-Man film series, Garfield reprised his role in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), a film set in the MCU, appearing alongside Maguire's iteration of the character as a supporting character to the new MCU iteration of Spider-Man played by Tom Holland. It had been reported in 2020 that Garfield would reprise his role as his version of Peter Parker alongside the other cinematic iterations of the character in the third MCU Spider-Man film, but these reports were never confirmed by Sony or Marvel Studios and were publicly denied by both Holland and Garfield several times in order to keep their involvement in the film a secret. In an interview with Variety that was published on January 6, 2022, Garfield said that his experience working on Spider-Man: No Way Home was "joyful", and that it gave him closure with his version of the character. Tom Holland described the inclusion of his Spider-Man predecessors Garfield and Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man: No Way Home 'was an idea that seemed impossible' before it came to fruition. Holland has also stated he regretted not contacting Garfield after he initially succeeded him in the role and felt lucky that Spider-Man: No Way Home had given both actors a second chance to discuss the Spider-Man character.
Powers and suit design
Like all other versions of the character, this iteration of Parker has superhuman physical abilities, reflexes, and senses, and is able to crawl on walls. Unlike the Spider-Man of the previous series, this iteration of the character is unable to shoot organic webs from his arms, relying on self-designed mechanical web shooters attached to his suit. Webb explained that he felt that the web-shooters were "able to dramatize Peter's intellect".
During the design process for the spandex Spider-Man suit used in The Amazing Spider-Man, Webb put an emphasis on making the suit look as if it was made by a high-school student. This was shown through decisions such as making the lenses for the eyes from a pair of sunglasses. Webb explained that he and the crew wanted a design that would make the body look more acrobatic, with the "legs of the spider [symbol on the chest]" used to emphasize it. Webb revealed that the film used varying suits for different lighting conditions. The webbing on the costume was also made darker.
The suit was more streamlined in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, emphasizing updates supposedly made by Peter and Gwen in between the two films. Changes included larger lenses in the mask and modified web shooters, in addition to some modifications allowing Garfield to use the restroom while in the suit.
Characterization and analysis