Andrew Garfield Improvised No Way Home’s Spider-Man Pointing Scene

Actor Andrew Garfield says that he helped improvise the recreation of the famous Spider-Man pointing meme in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Garfield returned to the role of Spider-Man/Peter Parker in No Way Home, as Doctor Strange’s multiverse spell brought a multitude of characters from different Spider-Man universes into Tom Holland’s MCU universe, including Garfield and Tobey Maguire, who have both played the character in previous installments for Sony Pictures. Garfield appeared in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man and 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, while Maguire appeared in 2002’s Spider-Man, 2004’s Spider-Man 2, and 2007’s Spider-Man 3. Holland has appeared as Spider-Man/Peter Parker throughout the MCU, starring the three solo films, as well as three team films, including Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.

The famous Spider-Man pointing meme comes from the 1960s animated series, particularly in episode 19b, titled “Double Identity” from 1967. In the episode, Spider-Man is being impersonated by a villain, causing the two to point at one another at the end, disclaiming who is real and who isn’t. The meme was recreated and used in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse in the end credits scene, which features Spider-Man 2099 as voiced by Oscar Isaac.

Talking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy, Sad, Confused Podcast, Garfield revealed that he had suggested the recreation of the pointing Spider-Man meme scene during the moment when Ned (Jacob Batalon) calls out, “Hey, Peter” during the scene when all three Spider-Men were working in the high-school lab. Garfield says it took them a while to figure out where to put it, but says he had a “lightning bolt” moment and ran to No Way Home director Jon Watts to reveal his idea, which was for the recreation to happen during the lab scene. Originally, the scene played out a little differently, as Garfield points out, saying, “Cause there’s this moment where Jacob [Batalon] is like, ‘Hey Peter?’ and we all go, ‘Yeah?’ But in the script, it was like, that was that. We all go ‘Yeah?’ and in the script, my Peter says, ‘This isn’t going to get old at all,’ like something kind of sardonic — which felt kind of undercutting.” However, it was that moment that felt like the natural time to recreate the meme. Garfield explains, saying:

So then we were thinking I could say, ‘Aw, this is adorable. We’re so adorable. God, we’re cute.’ Something like that. But then I was like, no, this is the moment where we get to go, ‘Do you mean me?’ Jon was like, ‘That’s it. That’s it. Done.’ I was so happy that worked.

Garfield has worked steadily since his initial run as Spider-Man, appearing in a number of high-profile projects, including Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge, Martin Scorsese’s Silence, Andy Serkis’ Breathe, and most recently in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tick, tick…BOOM! for Netflix. He’ll next appear in the adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s Under The Banner of Heaven for FX, as well as a new adaptation of Brideshead Revisited. Recently, the actor has expressed interest in playing Spider-Man again, especially with Holland and Maguire, although nothing has been announced as of yet.

The Spider-Man pointing meme is one of the more popular memes on the Internet and it’s a clever nod not only to the original meme, but also to how it was carried on in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, seeing as the multiverse plays such a huge role in No Way Home. Now that the spoilers are no longer spoilers, it’s nice to be able to appreciate how amazing it was to have Garfield, Maguire, and Holland all together in Spider-Man: No Way Home, not only because of the sheer logistics of it, but because they all sold it so well. The chemistry between the three actors was perfect, and although it certainly leads audiences to want more of that dynamic, it almost feels like it could jinx a good thing. Time will tell if the three ever reunite as Spider-Men again, but if not, Spider-Man: No Way Home will always serve as a picture-perfect portrayal of all three generations together.

Source: Happy Sad Confused Podcast

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