Andrew Garfield Thinks Miles Morales Could Follow Him As Spider-Man; Producers Do Not
UPDATE: The producers of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 have commented on this story, read their thoughts below.
Sony Pictures is invested in Spider-Man for the long term. They see the webslinger as their own Marvel cash cow and are planning a huge universe around the character. That continues with this weekend's big sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The new movie will be followed by a third film, spinoffs featuring the Sinister Six and Venom, and potentially a fourth film in the series.
But what will they do after that? Reboot yet again? Peter Parker himself, Andrew Garfield, thinks the answer is already in the comics. He believes his character could, and should, pass the torch to the multi-racial character Miles Morales.
In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Garfield was asked if he thought his character and Miles Morales could co-exist:
I have given that thought. I think one of the amazing things about Spider-Man is that you don't see skin color when he's in the suit. You don't see any religious beliefs. You don't see any denominations. Everyone can project themselves into that suit. It's incredibly powerful in that way. So of course I think it's important that the openness, the casting, in terms of who could be Spider-Man, could be absolutely anyone. A hero is a hero, whether you're a man, woman, gay, lesbian, straight, black, white or red all over — it doesn't matter.
Miles Morales was a huge moment in this character's comic book life. And I do believe that we can do that. It's something I'm really interested in figuring out; an eloquent way of coexisting, or passing on the torch. I don't have an answer, but I think it's actually a really important move. I think it's a really beautiful and important move.
It would be a beautiful and important move, plus, it offers the studio and filmmakers a way to naturally continue the franchise. That is, of course, if it's still viable come 2018 or whenever Garfield's time as Parker is over. And if they haven't completely exhausted every single Spidey villain by then.
Do you like the idea of a Miles Morales movie? Should Peter Parker get killed?
UPDATE: The Playlist actually asked producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach about this possibility and they shot it down cold. Here's the exchange:The Playlist: Are Miles Morales ("Ultimate Spider-Man"), Ben Reilly (clone Spider-Man) or Miguel O'Hara ("Spider-Man 2099") on the table? If you want a Spider-Man movie every year why not bring in some of the other variations?Tolmach: No.Arad: No. The one thing you cannot do, when you have a phenomena that has stood the test of time, you have to be true to the real character inside – who is Peter Parker? What are the biggest effects on his life? Then you can draw in time, and you can consider today's world in many ways. But to have multiple ones... I don't know if you remember, but Marvel tried it. And it was almost the end of Spider-Man.So Spider-Man in the cinematic realm will always be Peter Parker?Arad: Absolutely.Tolmach: As far as we're concerned. The guys who take it over after us... Who knows...