Tom Holland believes Andrew Garfield was able to ‘win general public back’ with Spider-Man: No Way Home appearance

One of the highlights of Spider-Man: No Way Home was the return and redemption of Andrew Garfield’s version of Spider-Man. Andrew’s Spidey had been a polarising figure in the fandom but his return turned him into a fan favourite, something his successor Tom Holland has noticed too.

In a recent interview, Tom talked about how Andrew won the fans back and made amends with the studio as well. He even went on to put his weight behind the fans’ demand for Andrew returning again as Spider-Man in his own solo film.

Andrew Garfield’s performance as Spider-Man received praise from fans initially but the films and his portrayal did get polarising reviews and feedback as the series returned for the second instalment. This led to an abrupt cancellation of the series and a reboot with Tom Holland taking over Spidey duties with Spider-Man: Homecoming, which released in 2016.

But his outing in No Way Home has only received love from fans. Speaking about it on the Phase Zero podcast, the film’s star Tom Holland said, “I think what was so wonderful was how Andrew was able to kind of make amends with the character and the studio, you know, to kind of win the general public back.”

Tom noted fans’ campaign to get the Andrew-starrer series back on track and give the character closure with The Amazing Spider-Man 3. The film had been planned for a 2017 release but was cancelled in favour of Tom’s films. He said, “I would love to see The Amazing Spider-Man 3. That scene where he saved Zendaya, like, the fan reactions in the theater were so spectacular. So, should Sony decide to do that, they would have my full support–and, obviously, so would Andrew.”

In another recent interview, Tom had admitted that he regretted not speaking to Andrew when the Amazing Spider-Man series was cancelled. “So looking back, I wish I had the chance to make amends with him, but this film was our opportunity,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Also read: Tom Holland regrets not calling Andrew Garfield after learning he’d be new Spider-Man: ‘I would’ve been heartbroken’

After Andrew’s Spider-Man films and spin-offs got cancelled, there were reports that he was fired from the role. In 2014, after the infamous Sony hack, it was revealed in an email that Andrew was ‘let go’ after he didn’t show up at an event where Sony chief Kaz Hirai was supposed to announce The Amazing Spider-Man 3. Andrew has said that he didn’t show up because he was ill.