An official statement from Sony Pictures, the studio behind the Spider-Man movies, has debunked reports claiming Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would both return as Peter Parker in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 3.
The rumours – which claimed the two former Spider-Men would return thanks to some multiverse shenanigans – were widely circulated online, but ET Canada has since received word from Sony that no casting has been confirmed.
“Those rumoured castings are not confirmed,” the studio statement reads. Notice, however, that there’s no outright denial that Maguire and Garfield could be back…
While the idea of the two actors reprising their roles once seemed like ludicrous fan-casting, recent reports that Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange will be Parker’s mentor in Spider-Man 3, and that Jamie Foxx is reprising his Electro role, have implied a live-action Spider-Verse could be on the cards.
The original report suggested that Maguire and Garfield could appear in Spider-Man 3 and that they would arrive in the final act to help Holland defeat Electro, who would be joined by other Spider-Man villains. But, as the studio noted, this isn’t confirmed, so take it with a webbed-fistful of salt.
If Electro arrives from another universe, who better to help the young Web-Slinger than a sorcerer familiar with alternate dimensions and magic? Hopefully, Cumberbatch’s role isn’t just as a replacement for Tony Stark after the hero’s defiant death in Avengers: Endgame. Stephen Strange’s sarcastic snarkiness has often been compared to Stark, so his dynamic with Parker could easily follow a similar path.
Cameras roll on Spider-Man 3 in Atlanta this month as Cumberbatch also prepares to start work on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with director Sam Raimi. Jon Watts returns to helm Spider-Man 3 from a script penned by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige is producing the sequel alongside Amy Pascal.
There’s still months to go until Black Widow arrives in cinemas after it was pushed to May 7 2021, but until then take a look at all the upcoming movies on the way in 2020 and beyond.
