Tobey Maguire Was Considered As Older Peter Parker For ‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’

Sony’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse already has an ensemble cast — featuring the likes of The Get Down’s Shameik Moore and Bumblee star Hailee Steinfeld to the Oscar-winning Mahershala Ali and National Treasure lead Nic Cage.

The movie almost had one more voice talent that would have been a big deal for fans. In fact, it may have been a perfect casting. According to one of the film’s three directors, original Spider-Man actor Tobey Maguire was one of the team’s choices to voice the movie’s version of an older Peter Parker.

“There was,” Rodney Rothman told Screen Crush. “There were many thoughts about where we could put Tobey Maguire and others. I think after this film, those thoughts might have a little more traction.”

“But before this movie, and introducing the idea of the “Spider-Verse” to the audience, I think everybody was afraid that it would just really confuse people. But wow, it would have been fun.

Maguire, of course, played Peter Parker in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy of the 2000s. Parker, now 43, would certainly fit the age of the movie’s version of the popular web-slinging character. Into The Spider-Verse features Moore’s Mile Morales as the main character as he’s aided by a wash-up Peter Parker from another universe. That role — the one that Maguire was considered for — wound up going to funnyman Jake Johnson.

Regardless of who’s in the role, it looks as if Sony may have a hit on their hands. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is currently tracking a for a $40 million opening weekend and as of this writing, the film still has a perfect 100% Fresh rating on the reviewing-aggregating website Rotten Tomatoes.

Needless to say, Into The Spider-Verse producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller are excited about the property.

“We are so excited about this movie, we’re so proud of it,” Lord said during Sony’s CinemaCon panel. “We’re thrilled to help bring the story of Miles Morales to the screen. His story is a sensation in the comics, we loved it there, and we were so inspired to try to find a way to tell his story visually that would be commensurate with that.”

“It’s his Brooklyn upbringing, it’s his culture,” Miller added. “He’s half-Puerto Rican, half-African-American, he’s a product of a happy and alive family, he’s 13-years-old. All that tells the kind of hero he’s going to become, and we’re going to get to experience the Spider-Man legend through this new and exciting lens.”

Would you have liked to see Maguire voice Into The Spider-Verse‘s Peter Parker? What are your thoughts on the movie so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse swings into theaters December 14th, 2018.