Tom Holland Regrets How He Handled Replacing Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man

MCU star Tom Holland expressed a sense of regret in the way he took over the Spider-Man mantle from The Amazing Spider-Man‘s Andrew Garfield.

While Garfield and Holland are best known now for their team-up effort in Spider-Man: No Way Home alongside Tobey Maguire, the transition between their portrayals wasn’t an easy thing in the mid-2010s.

Following a set of leaked emails from Sony Pictures in 2014, Spider-Man made his way into the MCU, with Tom Holland being recast in the role while Garfield’s take on the hero was left behind.

Holland Regrets Not Talking With Garfield About Spider-Man Recast

The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, touching on the time when he replaced Andrew Garfield as the web-slinger following The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Holland admitted that he regrets the way he handled that transition, being “so caught up in getting the role” that he didn’t think about what Garfield was going through and wishing he’d called his predecessor to clear the air:

“That’s because of my naivete as a kid. I was 19 when I got cast. I was so caught up in getting the role that I never took any time to think about what it must have been like for him. If I’d made my second movie and it didn’t necessarily deliver in the way it should have done and they recast me, I would really struggle to bounce back. Andrew bounced back in the most unbelievable way. I just wish I’d called him and just said, ‘You know I can’t turn down this opportunity.'”

He later had the opportunity to talk about everything as he teamed up with Garfield and Tobey Maguire for Spider-Man: No Way Home, highlighting the “amazing bond” that they have and how they “really are like brothers” through their time playing the role.

Holland also referenced the group chat the three of them have, which he affectionately called the “Spider-Boys” group:

“It was wonderful. Myself, Andrew, Tobey — we have this amazing bond as three people who have been through something that is so unique that we really are like brothers. We have a great group chat and we catch up every now and then. It’s called the Spider-Boys.”

Will Andrew Garfield Return as Spider-Man?

Since the transition between Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland, the two have built a strong working relationship along with a deep friendship through their shared experience playing Spider-Man.

Garfield himself has even commented on the struggles he had playing the role before Holland joined the MCU, but after No Way Home, fans are eager to see him continue on in new web-slinging adventures.

Right now, there are no plans in place for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 to go into production, although there are fan campaigns pushing for it to become a reality at some point in Sony’s future.

But with Avengers: Secret Wars potentially looking to bring back as many past Marvel Variant characters as possible, Garfield may be on his way back to the Marvel Studios story not too long from now.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is streaming now on Starz and Max. Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man is streaming now on Disney+.