Ever since July 1, 2010, when Andrew Garfield was announced as the new Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Marc Webb's 2012 reboot of the "Spider-Man" franchise, a good majority of fans have grossly criticized the young actor for being "too old" for the role.
In this reimagining of the 2002 film starring Tobey Maguire, Peter Parker will be a teenager going through high school and dealting with personal issues such as the death of his Uncle Ben, and even his transformation into Spider-Man. As well as growing up. This information was let out by Sony themselves, and has grown doubt about Andrew being able to really pull of a high schooler around 15 through 17.
But needless to say, Tobey Maguire was 25 when he was cast as the iconic character in 2001, in which he also played the character in high school for the begining of the film where he was able to pull it off. Keeping in mind that Andrew was only two years older when he was cast, it seems that the negativity is a bit unneeded. Especially when you consider that Tobey really did not receive the "age" backlash when he won the part.
Looking through cinema, it is hardly a new trend to cast an actor in there 20s as a high schooler. For instance, Michael J. Fox played Marty McFly, a high schooler, in the "Back to the Future" films when he was around 25. He also returned to the role when he was 28, still with his character set in high school.
Robert Pattinson, the teen british heartthrob that is coincidentally a best friend of Andrew Garfield's has become known around the world as vampire Edward Cullen in the "Twilight" films, another character set in high school. Though Pattinson was around 21 or 22 when he was cast, he still managed to play off the high schooler part with ease.
Taking a look at Andrew Garfield's growing resume of work, it is clear that the young actor has a special place in cinema in the coming years and has an incredibly classy range of acting. He has gone toe to toe with actors Robert Redford and the late Heath Ledger, and is also heavily being talked about to be nominated for "Best Supporting Actor" at the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony. Also, Andrew did play a high schooler not to long ago in a TV series called "Sugar Rush".
If the look Garfield has in that show works as a basis for how he can pull of Peter Parker in this coming reboot, then have no fear Spidey fans, Garfield should be a sure bet to pull off the role.