Tobey Maguire brought a live-action Spider-Man to our screens for the first time in 2002. Then, in 2012, when Sony rebooted the franchise, Andrew Garfield assumed 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 a third time and officially introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War with Tom Holland cast in the role. If ever there was a perfect time to play Spider-Man, it would arguably have been at this time. It was, after all, the result of a deal between Disney and Sony and, in a way, a merging of franchises: the beloved wall-crawling superhero with one of the biggest movie franchises in history.
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Holland has now made three of his Spider-Man movies and has played the character across other franchises as well. He is highly regarded as the best iteration of the famed web-slinger and has many memorable moments. That said, he almost didn’t get the part. Indeed, over 1500 hopeful young actors auditioned for the role of Peter Parker.
Updated October 29th, 2022: It’s interesting to speculate what Spider-Man would’ve been like in the MCU if he was played by a different actor than Tom Holland. Here are some people who were almost cast as the MCU’s Spider-Man.
With this being the third reboot, and with two big studios to please, the casting process was long and difficult. What’s more, a lot of young and well-known actors were considered for the role before it ultimately went to a then-relatively unknown Holland. Holland edged out the competition through a series of successful screen tests with co-stars Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. These are some actors who were almost cast as Spider-Man in the MCU instead.
Dylan O’Brien
20th Century Fox
The lead in the uber-popular Maze Runner franchise, Dylan O’Brien’s name was one of the first to be thrown around on the internet in 2015 after it was announced that Marvel and Sony would be introducing Spider-Man to the MCU with a new actor. Though many fans wanted him to take on the role of Peter Parker, he ultimately never became a serious contender in the casting process as he was still filming his series Teen Wolf at the time and would not have had the time to work on both projects. More recently Dylan has starred opposite Mark Wahlberg in the reincarnation thriller Infinite.
Nat Wolff
RLJE Films
Just like with O’Brien, the internet was rife with rumors in 2015 that Nat Wolff, who was riding on the success of his film Paper Towns, was on the shortlist of actors being considered for the role of Spidey. However, that wasn’t true, and he later revealed in an interview that he had never been asked to audition. His younger cousin was the one who told him about all the rumors. Nat Wolff also starred in the Stephen King miniseries The Stand.
Andrew Garfield
Sony
After 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’s The Amazing Spider-Man and its 2014 follow-up and was declared by The Guardian as the “definitive Spider-Man”. Upon the integration, the actor was told he would be replaced as the hero in Captain America: Civil War and subsequent solo reboot; the part was ultimately awarded to fellow Brit Tom Holland.
Garfield’s Spider-Man came extremely close to be featured in the MCU back in 2012 in The Avengers, when the blockbuster picture almost included a visual Easter egg of Oscorp Tower (from the forthcoming The Amazing Spider-Man) in a view of the New York City skyline. The simple scene could have severely altered the face of the franchise and the MCU as a hole. Garfield’s highly-buzzed about appearance alongside Tobey Maguire and Holland in Spider-Man: No Way Home has led to fans hoping he will once again return to the iconic role.
Liam James
Sycamore Pictures
Unlike the previous two entries on our list, Liam James was on the shortlist to play Spider-Man along with Tom Holland. The star of 2013’s The Way, Way Back hasn’t appeared to speak publicly about the audition process, but even without playing Peter Parker, his career has still been able to soar after being cast as one of the leads in Netflix’s 2018-2019 sci-fi series The Deadly Class.
Dylan Minnette
Netflix
Dylan Minnette, best 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 it his best shot. In the interview Minnette states “To be honest, it was at a time where I wasn’t necessarily, like, seeking it out - really, I feel like I wasn’t at a point in my career, in my life, where I would feel like I was fully ready to commit to something like that anyway, so I don’t think I gave it my all or my best.” Minnette continued to sing Holland’s praises on his “incredible” performances in the films, stating further, “He was meant to be that part.”
Timothée Chalamet
Legendary Pictures
Though he is now one of the most sought-after actors in the world, when Timothée Chalamet was being considered to play Peter Parker, he was still relatively unknown. He was shortlisted but ultimately didn’t get the opportunity to join the MCU. However, Spider-Man himself Tom Holland recently said that he would like to see Chalamet as a potential villain in future Spider-Man projects. Maybe he’ll steal his Dune co-star and Spider-Man leading lady Zendaya away from Peter.
Judah Lewis
New Line Cinema
One of the youngest of the actors to be screen-tested for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Judah Lewis would have been Peter Parker’s real age had he been cast, auditioning at the tender age of 14. The Christmas Chronicles and Babysitter star is still young and has been getting steady roles since the part went to Holland. We can’t wait to see where his budding career goes!
Charlie Plummer
TriStar Pictures
Charlie Plummer (not related to the late Christopher Plummer, unfortunately) is another actor who was shortlisted for Spidey. The child actor, who first appeared in front of audiences in Boardwalk Empire when he was just 12, certainly has the acting chops for Peter Parker, but perhaps he just didn’t embody the role the same way Tom Holland did. It’s okay, though, as Charlie Plummer has managed to get good work since losing the role, appearing as one of the leads in the popular Looking for Alaska miniseries.
Charlie Rowe
CBS Television
Our second Charlie to make this list, Charlie Rowe was one of the more popular choices among fans when the shortlist of screen-tested actors was released in 2015. Not only is he the same age as Holland, but he is also a fellow Londoner and the only actor besides Holland to screen test twice.
The Salvation star was quite upset about not getting the role, but took it in stride and congratulated his friend, tweeting, “Well done @TomHolland1996, glad that Tom’s a mate, pleased for him. I thought I could’ve made quite a good Spider-Man.” Maybe he could join the ranks as a Spider-Man villain one day, too.
Matthew Lintz
AMC Studios
The Walking Dead alum Matthew Lintz was the youngest actor to screen test for the role of Peter Parker. While he was probably a bit too young to join the MCU in 2015, he did end up joining in 2022 when he took on the part of Bruno Carrelli in the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel. We can’t wait to see what else this budding young actor will do now that he is finally a part of the MCU.
Logan Lerman
Monkeypaw Productions
Logan Lerman, like Dylan O’Brien, was one of the most popular fan castings for Spider-Man on the internet. Fans desperately wanted to see him wear the Spidey suit, and while his name was tossed around the studio during the casting process, it doesn’t appear that he ever actually auditioned for the role. In fact, in a 2020 interview with GQ, Lerman 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 Spider-Man hopefuls was fellow English actor Asa Butterfield. The Sex Education star wanted the part of Peter Parker bad, and he was crushed to lose out on it. In a 2020 interview with Collider, he said, “Every so often there’s a part [that you really want] and it’s a script you love and you kind of put your heart and soul into it, and you don’t get it. And it is tough, and it is shit, but I often find that something even better comes out of it at the end. And so in the case of Spider-Man, I did Sex Ed, because I wouldn’t have been able to do both of those at the same time.”
He continued, “Because Tom did amazing things with Peter, and he had an entirely different portrayal of him and I think it’s worked so well in the universe and in that part, and I don’t think I could do it. So I think all things work out in the end.” We think that’s a great attitude to have.
