Andrew Garfield has some amazing hopes for the next Spider-Man
We’re getting a brand new Spider-Man, and thankfully there’s no bad blood between Andrew Garfield and newly minted Peter Parker, Tom Holland. Garfield has had nothing but praise for the young actor suiting up as Spidey next, and it warms our heart. But even looking further down the Spider-Man franchise road, Garfield has even bigger and better things to say about the hero’s future.
The Spider-Man we’ve always known and loved has been a white, heterosexual male. Garfield thinks superheroes should catch up with the changing times, and Spider-Man is the perfect one to start with. “I’m excited to get to the point where we don’t have to have [this kind of conversation],” he explained to Mic., “where we can have a pansexual Spider-Man.”
“The richness of the world we’re in, the diversity of the world we’re in; you look at the animal kingdom and you see it reflected…. What are we so scared of? Why are we so, ‘No, it has to be this way, a man and a woman.’ Why is that even a conversation?”
There’s been a whole lot of diversity in the comics as of late, and it’s something that is constantly growing and changing. Just this past year in the Marvel world, we’ve been introduced to a slew of all new female superheroes, including the fact that Thor’s now female. On top of that, we’ve seen a lot of racial diversity, too, with the brand new Ms. Marvel series, and upcoming re-imagining of Hulk. One Marvel character also came out as gay, too: Bobby Drake of the X-Men. But there’s still so much more room for growth. And Garfield believes our favorite web-slinger is a perfect candidate for even more diversity.
“The beauty about Spider-Man, for me, is that he’s covered head to toe,” he continued. “That’s why everyone thinks it could be them in that suit. You don’t see skin color. You don’t see sexual orientation. You don’t see how old the person is, gender, the whole thing. I celebrate that. Anyone can be a hero in their own lives.”
So, SO TRUE. Even though we won’t see Garfield suit up again as Spider-Man, he’s got wisdom about the character for days. He’s right when he says that anyone can be in that suit, so it is most definitely time to break the normal Spidey mold. The character’s name might be “Spider-Man” but that doesn’t mean everything about him (or her!) always has to stay the same.
(Image via Sony.)
