Garfield attends the GQ ‘Men of the Year’ party in Hollywood, California in November 2021. Photo: AFP The Amazing Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield knows how to keep a big secret and stayed tight-lipped about – spoilers ahead – his surprise appearance in the new Marvel blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Garfield’s slides back into his Spider-Man suit alongside the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Tom Holland and early 2000s’ Spider-Man actor Tobey Maguire to create the ultimate Peter Parker story and a movie-going zeitgeist moment.
It is no secret that the film has had a spectacular box office and critical reception, thanks in part to the storytelling that brought the three Spideys together.
But Garfield lied to the media and even stonewalled Emma Stone, his Amazing Spider-Man co-star and former girlfriend of four years, who played Gwen Stacy in Sony’s 2012 and 2014 films and whose arc is alluded to in the new film.
“Emma kept on texting me. She was like, ‘Are you in this new Spider-Man film?” Garfield, 38, recently said on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast. “And I was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’”
“She was like, ‘Shut up. Just tell me.’ I’m like, ‘I honestly don’t know’ – I kept it going, even with her,” he said, laughing. “And then she saw it. She was like, ‘You’re a jerk.’ I didn’t want to tell anyone. I took it super seriously. I told no one.”
The podcast episode was solely focused on No Way Home. Garfield and Horowitz dissected a number of dramatic moments from the film as well as several potential leaks – including a DoorDash delivery guy’s attempts to out him while filming in Atlanta. They also talked about Garfield’s near-expert deflections about his involvement.
In fact, on the very same podcast last May when rumours were swirling around Garfield’s appearance, the British actor vehemently denied his participation. Then, he guiltily ‘fessed up on the new episode.
“I am the werewolf,” Garfield said, referring to the secret-keeping party game also called Mafia. “My gosh, it’s kinda sad. I’m kind of sad that it’s over in a way. I wish that we could continue the game … maybe not on this level. This one was pretty special.”
The Tick, Tick … Boom! and Mainstream star likened the red herring to planning a surprise party for someone who might want to know that they are being feted but also wants to be genuinely surprised. He also talked about what returning to the Spider-verse meant to him.
“I had definitely closed that chapter of my life and felt very peaceful and good about it,” he said. “And only had nice feelings towards it. And a great relationship with [producer] Amy [Pascal] and genuinely loved what Tom Holland had done.”
He said he was intrigued and “very giddy” about the “quite comprehensive” pitch made by Sony’s Pascal, Marvel’s Kevin Feige and director Jon Watts. He said they wanted his and Maguire’s participation “to be in service to” Holland’s journey as Peter Parker – and theirs too.
They told him, “We really think there’s something really interesting to explore when these three lone wolfs – who think they are alone in the universe in their own singular experience of being Spider-Man – come together, and we want to collaborate.”
Garfield was sold and said he boarded the project before the script was even written.
