Tom Holland’s Spidey film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, is also Andrew Garfield’s “homecoming” as a Spider-Man. While Tobey Maguire and his trilogy of Spider-Man films received critical acclaim, Garfield’s run as The Amazing Spider-Man in the MCU did not.

Because of the tragic events of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014, Garfield’s Spider-Man role was cut short. This left Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker to deal with the guilt and grief of failing to save Gwen Stacy.

Fans finally get to hear from Garfield himself about how and why he decided to reprise his role on NWH. This is despite much of the hype surrounding Maguire’s return.

Andrew Garfield Explains His Return To NWH

Andrew Garfield finally opened up to Variety about why he agreed to return to the role of Peter Parker weeks after Spider-Man: No Way Home’s record-breaking debut, admitting that “just the idea of seeing three Spider-man in the same frame was enough:”

“I wasn’t expecting to ever have a conversation again about potentially playing Peter Parker. I felt very excited to just to be a fan again. But I got this call from Amy Pascal and Kevin Feige and Jon Watts with this idea. It was immediately undeniable. It sounded incredibly fun, incredibly spiritual — trippy and thematically interesting. On a base level, as a Spider-Man fan, just the idea of seeing three Spider-Men in the same frame was enough.”

Additionally, the actor revealed that the pitch for No Way Home “was really, really enticing” to him. This was so because it was what his protagonist would do “if you were dumped into this other universe and faced with this younger you” and “this older you:”

“The pitch was really, really enticing. They said, ‘You played this character in your way and what would you want to explore if you had an opportunity? If you were dumped into this other universe and faced with this younger you and this older you, how will you respond?’”

On Brotherhood and Mentorship

The actor also discussed the purpose of his and Maguire’s Peter serving as brothers and mentors. This, as well as addressing Peter’s dark path.

“We talked a lot about mentorship. We talked a lot about brotherhood and about what it is to be the older brother, younger brother and the middle brother. There’s also a thing of seeing someone you love walking down a path that you’ve already walked down, and you know it doesn’t lead the place where you ultimately meant to go.”

Garfield said that No Way Home offered Peter “a big spiritual journey” and the realization “that you’ve never been alone and there are other brothers going through the exact same thing:” for a character who had been denied his own conclusion.

“That character is isolated in his emotional experience and physical experience. But what happens when that aloneness gets blasted open, and you come to realize that you’ve never been alone and there are other brothers going through the exact same thing? That’s a big spiritual journey to go on, man. And then we just milked out all the fun that we could possibly have.”

It’s Possible to Return to Your Roots with Garfield

Garfield’s run as Spider-Man from 2012 to 2014 was well-known to anyone who saw it. Without a doubt, it’s clear that he had a great time doing it. After all these years, and it’s great to know that the actor’s desire to return was “immediately undeniable”. This is even though his own time was cut short. Notwithstanding his repeated and vehement denials.

Besides, it’s interesting to hear how Jon Watts, Amy Pascal, and Kevin Feige, of Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios, originally pitched the idea to Garfield and the purpose of his character in Tom Holland’s third Spider-Man movie.

In a way, the stories of Garfield and Peter are intertwined. Neither Garfield nor Peter got to finish their trilogy. Furthermore, they’ve both been overshadowed for years by Tobey Maguire’s iteration and the original trilogy. This, as well as Tom Holland’s current run. Garfield and his character earned their own happy endings in No Way Home. This and, also equivalent appreciation among cinema’s Spider-Men with this film.

If Garfield wants a second chance as the web-shooter, he may have found it in NWH. This has been praised by fans and garnered high marks from critics. The future of Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man story is still up in the air. Nonetheless, his performance in No Way Home proves that you can return home again.