Not only is Spider-Man: No Way Home in the business of breaking records at the box office, but the film is now responsible for an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as well. The new Marvel movie brought back actors from previous Spider-Man film franchises, including the stars of the very first Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe. Since the two actors reprised their roles in what is technically a continuation of their original series, they now have the longest careers as live-action Marvel characters.
Maguire and Dafoe made their debuts as Peter Parker and Norman Osborn Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, which hit theaters in 2002. They returned to play those characters 19 years and 225 days after that first movie, breaking the previous record set by Hugh Jackman, whose career as Wolverine spanned the 16 years and 232 days between X-Men and Logan.
Of the characters currently in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan is currently the longest-tenured. He first played the character in Iron Man, back in 2008, and appeared most recently in 2021’s No Way Home. Samuel L. Jackson will pass Favreau when the Secret Invasion series arrives on Disney+.
Before No Way Home, Tobey Maguire last played the role of Peter Parker back in Spider-Man 3. The actor recently took part in an interview alongside fellow Spidey stars Tom Holland and Andrew Garfield, and he opened up about what it was like to return to the character.
“I’m a big fan of Tom and those movies and Andrew. So, it was definitely intriguing. But, yes, I was also going, ‘Well, what what are we going to do?’ And that was a bit mysterious,” Maguire explained. “I did appreciate what was shared. But, it was really about getting together with these people and revisiting what was part of my history and and getting a chance to like come together. There are personal things too, which are kind of resolutions or a way to revisit and… I’m not quite sure how to put it. It’s just to get to get back into that and i don’t want to say like close the chapter… But revisit and have certain resolutions and just join in this loving creative spirit.”
Were you excited to see Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe return for more Spider-Man action? Let us know in the comments!