To say “Spider-Man: No Way Home” has been a roaring success would be an understatement.

The latest entry in the Marvel juggernaut became the first movie to gross more than $1 billion at the global box office since 2019, and broke opening weekend records when it was first released in December.
The film’s astonishing popularity is — at least in part — down to the blend of old and new that came by bringing all three cinematic iterations of the iconic comic book character together onscreen for the first time.
Spider-Man: No Way Home” saw Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield — who have all played Peter Parker in at least one film over the past 20 years — share the screen together and thrill fans who never thought they’d see the three in the same frame.
And — despite their respective fame for playing one of Marvel’s most beloved heroes and the enduring popularity of Spider-Man’s story — they were surprised at just how huge the movie has turned out to be.
“I always knew that this film would be loved around the world,” Holland, who plays the current version of the web-slinger, said in an interview with Deadline, published online Wednesday. “I didn’t think it would be quite as massive as it has been.”
Holland said that one of his favorite things to do since the film’s release is to scour the internet to find clips of fans’ shocked reactions to the appearance of Maguire and Garfield.
On the topic of how and why Garfield and Maguire returned to the roles that they left behind long ago, both said that they were intrigued when they first got the call from Amy Pascal — one of the producers on “Spider-Man: No Way Home” — and Garfield said that he felt the intention behind the film was “pure” and that there was a “great creative story.”
“I love the ‘destiny’ feeling of the multiverse expanding in this film,” Garfield said. “That without Tobey’s Peter and Andrew’s Peter being present for Tom’s Peter at this very moment, he may not become the Peter Parker that he’s supposed to become.”
The idea that “Spider-Man: No Way Home” feels like the destiny of the Parker character and his cinematic journey is one that Maguire and Garfield both made clear in the interview, with the former Spider-Men agreeing that the film felt like a culmination of 20 years of history.
While the trio spent most of the interview reflecting on the legacy of Spider-Man and how the comic book icon’s past has shaped the present, Holland signed off by admitting that he still isn’t sure if he will return to don that famous red and blue suit again when he was asked if there would be more of his take on the character.
“The truth is, and you’re not going to like the truth, I don’t know the answer to that question… This film for me was as special as an experience could ever be,” Holland said.
“There’s part of me that feels like it’s the perfect time to jump off a building and swing off into the sunset… I know I love this character and I know that I am not ready to say goodbye. But if it is time for me to say goodbye, then I will do so proudly knowing that I’ve achieved everything I wanted to with this character.”