In 2002, director Sam Raimi gave one of Marvel’s iconic superheroes a face through the casting of Tobey Maguire as the first live-action Spider-Man. Maguire’s innocent charm and endearing personality fit the bill perfectly with regard to the image of the character made famous by Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko.
Together, Raimi and Maguire collaborated on a successful trilogy that saw slick action sequences between Spider-Man and his various nemesis. One of the key fights in the first film was the superhero’s confrontation with Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin in a burning building. Fans to their surprise, have now found out that it was not Maguire or a stunt double, but CGI effects that were used to create Spider-Man for the scene.
Spider-Man Fans Were In For A Shock Following This Revelation
The Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire and directed by Sam Raimi, laid the foundation for the character to be developed in future narratives, which also saw different actors taking on the role. Maguire’s charm and simplicity worked well for audiences who praised his performances through the films.
In the first movie, the character is confronted by one of his biggest nemesis Green Goblin, played with sinister perfection by veteran Willem Dafoe. The two actors shared many intense action scenes, one of which was an encounter in a burning building when Spider-Man comes to save the day after the antagonist is wreaking havoc.
In the scene, Green Goblin sends out deadly razors which see the webbed superhero expertly avoiding them with arial tumbles. While audiences would have naturally thought that Maguire would have had a stunt double for this sequence, a netizen on X has pointed out through a video that it was actually CGI that was used to create the superhero for the scene.
Many fans expressed their surprise on social media, with viewers lauding Raimi and the team for making this look seamless despite the film being more than 2 decades old. Others even went on to say that the CGI quality back then would have given today’s technology stiff competition.
That was CGI?!?!?!? https://t.co/ZPvR5eapgQ
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) June 24, 2024
Always thought it was real, just slowed down. That's really good for 2002!
— J (@Adept_J) June 24, 2024
The graphics were better 20 years ago
— Polina (@SweetyPolinaXO) June 24, 2024
I remember watch the BTS stuff a long time ago so I always knew but it's still impressive how real the CGI was for 2002
— KhrisGPT (@khristofflee) June 24, 2024
There’s no way
— Alex Howarth (@alexhowarth99) June 24, 2024
what???? how come 2002 CGI is better than most of today's superhero CGIs? damn
— Azn Hyunnie (@hyunnie_hunny) June 25, 2024
The trilogy which spanned 5 years between 2002 to 2007, is still considered evergreen among fans who got their first live-action introduction on the big screen to one of Marvel’s greatest superheroes.
Tobey Maguire Takes Top Spot Among Spider-Man Actors In Paychecks
Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland have all successfully essayed the role of Spider-Man in three different Marvel films. Spider-Man: No Way Home saw the trio uniting for an iconic collaboration. Naturally, this meant that each star took home a hefty paycheck for their efforts over the years.
But the intriguing statistic according to a 2023 report in The International is that Tobey Maguire is the top individual earner among the 3 Spider-Man stars for the stand-alone films. According to the article, Maguire allegedly earned $4 million for his work in the first movie and received a huge pay increase for the sequel that saw him reportedly take home $17.5 million.
In surprising contrast, Tom Holland has had a significantly lesser payday. Holland who made his first appearance in the MCU in the 2016 movie Captain America: Civil War, earned around $250,000 for his work in that film. Following this, he reportedly took home $500,000 for his work in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
With his star power substantially increasing through his MCU stint, Holland was reportedly able to command $10 million for Spider-Man: No Way Home according to Parade. This though, was still considerably less than what Maguire made for his 2nd film.
While Andrew Garfield’s salary for the role has not been officially confirmed, The International speculates that when he was signed on in 2010, he was set to earn $500,000 for the first film. He subsequently made $1 million for the 2nd movie, with a 3rd film in his franchise yet to materialize.
Spider-Man is streaming on Disney+
