Tobey Maguire released a live action Spider Man in 2002 for the first time to our screens. When Sony rebooted the franchise in 2012, Andrew Garfield took on the role in Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man and again in the sequel The Amazing Spider Man 2. And in 2016, the web-slinging hero was rebooted for the third time and officially introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War with Tom Holland in the role. If ever there was a perfect time to play Spider-Man, it probably would have been right now. After all, it was the result of a deal between Disney and Sony and, in a sense, a franchise amalgamation: the beloved wall-crawling superhero with one of the biggest movie franchises in history.
The Netherlands has now made three Spider Man movies and has played the character in other franchises as well. He is highly regarded as the best version of the famous web slinger and has many memorable moments. That said, he almost didn’t get the part. Indeed, more than 1,500 hopeful young actors auditioned for the role of Peter Parker.
Updated October 29, 2022: It’s interesting to speculate what Spider-Man would have looked like in the MCU if played by an actor other than Tom Holland. Here are some people who almost got cast as Spider-Man from the MCU.
Since this was the third reboot and with two major studios to please, the casting process was long and difficult. In addition, many young and well-known actors were considered for the role before it eventually went to a then relatively unknown Netherlands. Holland beat the competition through a series of successful screen tests with co-stars Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. These are some of the actors who were almost cast as Spider-Man in the MCU instead.
Dylan O’Brien
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The lead in the very popular maze runner franchise, Dylan O’Brien’s name was one of the first to hit the internet in 2015 after it was announced that Marvel and Sony would be introducing Spider-Man to the MCU with a new actor. While many fans wanted him to take on the role of Peter Parker, he never became a serious contender in the casting process because he was still filming his series. Teen Wolf at the time and would not have had the time to work on either project. More recently, Dylan starred opposite Mark Wahlberg in the reincarnation thriller endless.
Nat Wolff
As with O’Brien, in 2015 the internet was full of rumors that Nat Wolffwho rode on the success of his film Paper cities, was on the shortlist of actors who were considered for the role of Spidey. That was not true, however, and he later revealed in an interview that he was never asked to audition. His younger cousin was the one who told him about all the rumours. Nat Wolff also starred in the Stephen King miniseries The score.
Andrew garfield
Having previously starred as Peter Parker in the second reboot of the fan-favorite film series, Andrew garfield was in talks to reprise the role for future sequels before Sony and Marvel Studios decided to integrate the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Garfield appeared in 2012 The Amazing Spider-Man and the 2014 follow-up and was explained by the guard as the “definitive Spider-Man”. During the integration, the actor was told that he would be replaced as the hero in Captain America: Civil War and subsequent solo reboot; the role was eventually awarded to compatriot Tom Holland.
Garfield’s Spider-Man came very close to being included in the MCU in 2012 in The Avengers, when the blockbuster photo almost contained a Oscorp Tower visual easter egg (of the coming The Amazing Spider-Man) overlooking the New York City skyline. The simple scene could have seriously changed the face of the franchise and the MCU as a hole. Garfield is very excited about appearance next to Tobey Maguire and Holland in Spider-Man: No Way Home has left fans hoping he will once again return to the iconic role.
Liam James
Unlike the previous two entries on our list, Liam James was shortlisted to play Spider-Man with Tom Holland. The star of 2013 How it once was doesn’t seem to speak publicly about the audition process, but even without playing Peter Parker, his career has still boomed after being cast as one of the main protagonists in Netflix’s 2018-2019 sci-fi series The Deadly Class.
Dylan Minnette
Dylan Minnettebest known for his role as Clay in Netflix’s 13 reasons why, also auditioned for the role of Spider-Man, but according to an interview with BuzzFeed didn’t give his best chance. In the interview, Minnette says, “To be honest, it was at a time when I wasn’t necessarily looking for it — really, I feel like I wasn’t at a point in my career, in my life, where I would feel like I was totally ready to commit to something like that anyway, so I don’t think I gave it my all or tried my best.” Minnette continued to sing Holland’s praise for his “incredible” performances in the films, further stating, “He was meant to be that role.”
Timothy Chalamet
Although he is now one of the most sought after actors in the world, Timothy Chalamet was considered to play Peter Parker, he was still relatively unknown. He was shortlisted but ultimately did not get the chance to join the MCU. However, Spider-Man himself Tom Holland recently said he’d like to see Chalamet as a potential villain in future Spider-Man projects. Maybe he steals his Dune co-star and Spider-Man lead actress Zendaya away from Peter.
Judah Lewis
One of the youngest actors to be tested on screen Spider-Man: Homecoming, Judah Lewis would have been Peter Parker’s real age if he had been cast, auditioning at the tender age of 14. The Christmas Chronicles and Babysit star is still young and has been getting regular roles since the role went to the Netherlands. We can’t wait to see where his burgeoning career goes!
Charlie Plummer
Charlie Plummer (unfortunately not related to the late Christopher Plummer) is another actor who was shortlisted for Spidey. The child actor, who first appeared in public in Boardwalk Empire when he was just 12, he definitely has the acting skills for Peter Parker, but maybe he just didn’t embody the role in the same way Tom Holland did. But it’s okay because Charlie Plummer has managed to get a good job since he lost the part and appeared as one of the main protagonists in the popular Search for Alaska miniseries.
Charlie Rowe
Our second Charlie to make this list, Charlie Rowe was one of the most popular picks among fans when the shortlist of screen-tested actors was released in 2015. Not only is he the same age as the Netherlands, but he is also a fellow Londoner and the only actor besides the Netherlands to have done a screen test twice.
The Rescue star was quite upset at not getting the part but took it to heart and congratulated his friend, tweeting: “Well done @TomHolland1996, glad Tom is a mate, happy for him. Thought I was quite a good Spider -Man could have made it.” Maybe he can join the ranks as a Spider Man one day bad guy too.
Matthew Lintz
The living Dead alum Matthew Lintz was the youngest actor to screen test for the role of Peter Parker. While he was probably a little too young to join the MCU in 2015, he finally made it to 2022 when he took on the role of Bruno Carrelli in the Disney+ series. Mrs. Marvel. We can’t wait to see what else this budding young actor will do now that he’s finally part of the MCU.
Logan Lerman
Logan Lerman, like Dylan O’Brien, was one of the most popular fans’ casts for Spider-Man on the internet. Fans desperately wanted to see him wearing the Spidey suit, and although his name was thrown around the studio during the casting process, it appears he never actually auditioned for the part. In fact, in a 2020 interview with GQLerman stated how he had no interest in playing a superhero. Looks like he won’t be joining the MCU anytime soon.
Asa Butterfield
One of the biggest hopes for Spider-Man was an English co-actor Asa Butterfield. The Sex Education star wanted the role of Peter Parker badly, and he was crushed to lose it. In a 2020 interview with Colliderhe said, “Every so often there is a roll” [that you really want] and it’s a script that you love and you put your heart and soul into it and you don’t get it. And it’s heavy, and it’s shit, but I often find that something better comes out at the end. And so in the case of Spider-Man I did Sex Edbecause I couldn’t have done both at the same time.”
He continued: “Because Tom was doing great things with Peter, and he had a very different view of him and I think it’s worked so well in the universe and in that part, and I don’t think I could. So I think everything will be fine in the end.” We think that’s a great attitude to have.