SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE Directors Initially Considered Casting Tobey Maguire As The Older SPIDER-MAN
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse will introduce Jake Johnson's seasoned Peter Parker, but it sounds like the directors initially considered bringing back someone a tad more familiar to voice the legend.
With Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse set to introduce the general public to a vast Multiverse next weekend, it's only fair to wonder whether the dimension-shattering adventure ever considered revisiting Sam Raimi's beloved original trilogy and/or Marc Webb's Amazing duology.
While the jury's still out on whether the animated film (or its sequels) will ever actually pay a visit to one of the live-action Spider universes, it sounds like the filmmakers did initially intend on paying a pretty major homage to the original Raimi trilogy by bringing back its biggest star: Tobey Maguire (Peter Parker/Spider-Man).
While speaking with ScreenCrush, Rodney Rothman, who co-directed the critically-acclaimed film with Bob Perischetti and Peter Ramsey, revealed that they did seriously consider casting Maguire as the voice the older Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), but decided against it for a pretty good reason.
"There was. There were many thoughts about where we could put Tobey Maguire and others. I think after this film, those thoughts might have a little more traction. But before this movie, and introducing the idea of the “Spider-Verse” to the audience, I think everybody was afraid that it would just really confuse people. But wow, it would have been fun."
Despite how sensational it would've been for older fans to hear Maguire return as Peter Parker, their reasoning does make sense and it probably was a wise decision. After all, they are attempting to launch a brand new Spider franchise for a whole new generation of fans that may not be as familiar with the blockbuster movies from nearly two decades ago, that essentially kickstarted the comic book movie revolution.
Also, with a Spider-Verse sequel and a Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) spinoff already confirmed, there's plenty of reason to be hopeful that we'll all eventually get to see Tobey Maguire return as Spider-Man. The limitless potential of the Spider-Verse could also open doors for both Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland to appear as well.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, bring their unique talents to a fresh vision of a different Spider-Man Universe, with a groundbreaking visual style that’s the first of its kind. Spider-Man™: Into the Spider-Verse introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse, where more than one can wear the mask.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse features:
Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodney Rothman
Shameik Moore as Miles Morales/Spider-Man
Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen
Mahershala Ali as Aaron Davis/Prowler
Jake Johnson as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Liev Schreiber as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin
Brian Tyree Henry as Jefferson Davis
Luna Lauren Vélez as Rio Morales
Lily Tomlin as May Parker
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse swings into theaters December 14