Andrew Garfield explains why he as Spider-Man was replaced by Tom Holland

Andrew Garfield starred as a popular Marvel superhero in two films, 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man and 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The actor was also given a shot at redemption with Spider-Man: No Way Home, and he grabbed it with both hands. However, Andrew Garfield was abruptly dropped from the franchise after starring in the two Spider-Man flicks. Tom Holland was hired as his replacement shortly afterward and introduced as the new Spider-Man in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.

Andrew Garfield reveals reason behind his replacement with Tom Holland in Spider-Man 

Andrew Garfield was believed to continue playing the character for several years as the third and fourth films were already announced, however, due to underperformance at the box office of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, coupled with a piece of information about the studio’s displeasure at Garfield’s behaviour on one occasion, in particular, it was decided that the franchise should be rebooted. Meanwhile, during the infamous Sony hack of 2014, it was revealed that studio representatives were left embarrassed as Garfield didn't show up at the event. Garfield allegedly cancelled the appearance at the last moment, much to the resentment of studio brass. A part of the email exchange between Sony reps, Garfield’s reps, and Sony chief Amy Pascal read, “Here we are about one hour away from our gala event and Andrew decides he doesn’t want to attend. He has a rather scruffy beard and he just wants to be left alone".

Moreover, in a 2016 interview with The Guardian, Garfield was asked if he was fired from the role after self-sabotaging his reputation with the studio. He said, “No, I don’t think so. What I’ll proudly say is that I didn’t compromise who I was, I was only ever myself. And that might have been difficult for some people.” Moreover, speaking to Daily Beast in 2014, he explained recasting in more detail, “I think what happened was, through the pre-production, production, and post-production, when you have something that works as a whole, and then you start removing portions of it – because there was even more of it than was in the final cut, and everything was related. Once you start removing things and saying, ‘No, that doesn’t work,’ then the thread is broken, and it’s hard to go with the flow of the story".

However, the actor turned his attitude about the whole situation after being called back for No Way Home. Looking back on his time as the character, Garfield told Variety, “It was only beautiful. I got to meet Emma [Stone] and work with her and Sally Field. I had karma with Amy Pascal, who was a mother figure, and we would fight, but ultimately, we loved each other on a deep level. We tried to meet as much in the middle as we could in terms of why I wanted to do this role, and what her needs were as the head of the studio.”

Image: AP/Instagram/@spidermanmovie