"Spider-Man: No Way Home"? More like Spider-Man: No way Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland would pass up an opportunity to re-create the classic Spidey meme.
It was only a matter of time until the three Spider-Men, who recently shared the screen in "No Way Home," did their own riff on the famous image of two cartoon Spideys pointing at each other. (You know the one.) And on Wednesday, Sony finally — and strategically — released the photo we've all been waiting for.
Was it part of a shameless ploy to promote the release of "No Way Home" on digital and Blu-ray? Absolutely. But what can we say? The studio caught us in its marketing web.
"Of course, we got THE meme," Sony captioned the picture of Holland, left, Garfield and Maguire all pointing fingers at each other in full costume as the web-slinging hero.
Holland — the youngest Spidey and the only one with an Instagram account — also shared the trippy photo along with three smirking emojis. According to KnowYourMeme.com, the original mirror image hails from the "Double Identity" episode of 1967's animated "Spider-Man" series, in which the teen vigilante encounters a villainous imposter.
The genius, albeit transparent, promotional effort from Sony and Marvel comes a couple of months after the latest "Spider-Man" installment shattered box office records in its theatrical debut. As of last week, the star-studded blockbuster had amassed $770.1 million in North America alone — surpassing 2009's "Avatar" as the third-highest grossing domestic release of all time.
A major incentive for "Spider-Man" fans to see the movie in theaters was the rumored involvement of Maguire and Garfield — who hadn't played Peter Parker since their final "Spider-Man" films opened in 2007 and 2014, respectively. At the December premiere of "No Way Home," the Los Angeles crowd erupted in cheers and applause when the pair of beloved actors joined Holland onscreen for the epic finale.
Despite previously denying the highly anticipated returns of Holland's Spidey predecessors, Garfield, Holland and others have since openly discussed their nostalgic comebacks on TV and in the media. In a recent interview with "Late Night" host Seth Meyers, Holland opened up about the inner turmoil he experienced while protecting one of the best-kept secrets of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
"I am a very honest person just by nature, which has got me into trouble in the past," Holland told Meyers.
"So on the press tour, journalists are like, 'So, are Tobey and Andrew in this movie?' I'm like, 'No, they're not. Stop asking me that!' And I go home and I almost can't sleep because I feel so bad for lying all the time. I call up my mom. I'm like, 'I just feel so guilty for all the lies.'"
Holland also revealed how an intimate behind-the-scenes moment between the golden trio of Peter Parkers ended up inspiring one of the last scenes of "No Way Home," in which he, Maguire and Garfield share a tearful hug.
"It was the most incredible experience of my career to share the screen with them," Holland said. "Playing Spider-Man ... can be quite alienating ... and it's quite hard to figure out how to navigate. So to almost have two older brothers that had been through it before me ... was amazing.
"I remember we were shooting this scene ... and I was struggling to find the emotion ... So I went up to Andrew and Tobey ... and I basically said, 'Thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for taking the time to be a part of this. ... It means the world to me.' And we all embrace and we all started crying, and I remember the writers seeing that and being like, 'Yep, that's how we're gonna end the film.'"
Anyway, because Sony earned it, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" comes out digitally March 22 and on Blu-ray on April 12.
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