00:00Spider-Man has been one of the biggest superhero franchises
00:03to hit the big screen in the past two decades.
00:05And between all three iterations,
00:07its history is a web of casting could have beens.
00:10I missed the part where that's my problem.
00:16Although directors from Roger Corman to James Cameron
00:19tried to get a Spider-Man movie off the ground
00:21over the years, with Sony and Cameron interested
00:23in Leonardo DiCaprio or Edward Furlong starring,
00:27it was Sam Raimi who got the green light
00:29in the early 2000s.
00:30Raimi considered Freddie Prince Jr.,
00:32Wes Bentley, Chris Klein, and Jude Law for his Peter Parker,
00:36but eventually offered the part to Heath Ledger.
00:38The eventual Joker turned down the role,
00:40as did Josh Hartnett, so Raimi auditioned other actors
00:43like Scott Speedman and James Franco,
00:45who was instead cast as villain Harry Osborn
00:48before being won over by Tobey Maguire
00:50after seeing the Cider House Rules.
00:52Fly! Up, up and away, web!
00:56For Mary Jane, Eliza Dushku, Alicia Cuthbert, Alicia Vitt,
01:01Mina Savari, and Tara Reid were considered
01:03before the role was offered to Kate Hudson,
01:05who turned it down to do The Four Feathers instead.
01:08Elizabeth Banks auditioned, but was told she was too old
01:11and instead cast as Betsy Brandt.
01:13Kirsten Dunst only read for Raimi after learning
01:16Tobey Maguire was on board and then landed the job.
01:19Wow, great reflexes.
01:21Several of Hollywood's elite actors were considered
01:23for Green Goblin, including Nicholas Cage, John Malkovich,
01:27Bill Paxton, John Travolta, Robert De Niro,
01:30and Mel Gibson, who actually declined the role.
01:33Billy Crudup dropped out of other projects
01:34to play Green Goblin, but producers ultimately felt
01:37he was too young and brought in Willem Dafoe.
01:39You know, I'm something of a scientist myself.
01:42Spider-Man was a huge hit and a sequel was fast-tracked,
01:45but there was concern Maguire would not be able to return
01:47after hurting his back, making Seabiscuit.
01:50Jake Gyllenhaal was brought in as a potential replacement,
01:53but Maguire ended up filming after all.
01:55For Spider-Man 2's villain, Dr. Octopus,
01:58De Niro was again considered, along with David Duchovny,
02:01Liev Schreiber, Sam Neill, Ed Harris, and Chris Cooper.
02:05But it was Alfred Molina who earned the role
02:07based on his performance in Frida.
02:10Butterfingers.
02:12For 2007 Spider-Man 3 producers considered
02:15Ben Kingsley playing Vulture,
02:16but instead went with Topher Grace playing Venom.
02:19For Gwen Stacy, Alicia Cuthbert was again considered,
02:22along with Scarlett Johansson,
02:24before it went to Bryce Dallas Howard.
02:26Oh, this is so cool.
02:28Director Mark Webb came on to reboot the franchise
02:31with 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man
02:33and met with several actors for the new Peter Parker,
02:36including Jamie Bell, Alden Ehrenreich,
02:39Anton Yelchin, Frank Delaney, Aaron Taylor-Johnson,
02:42and Josh Hutcherson.
02:43In the end, it was Dylan O'Brien, Logan Lerman,
02:46and Andrew Garfield who emerged as the frontrunners,
02:49with the latter earning the role.
02:50You seriously think I'm a cop?
02:52A cop in a skin-tight red and blue suit.
02:54You know, you're, you're, you're, you're, you've got a mind
02:57of the true scholarship.
02:59Lily Collins, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Emma Roberts,
03:02Mia Vashikowska, Imogen Poots, Teresa Palmer, and Diana Egrin
03:07were all considered for Gwen Stacy, which went to Emma Stone,
03:10while Christoph Waltz and Michael Fassbender were eyed for the lizard
03:13before Reese Ifans landed the part.
03:16The Harry Osborne character returned for The Amazing Spider-Man 2,
03:20and Michael B. Jordan, Eddie Redmayne, Alden Ehrenreich,
03:23Boyd Holbrook, Sam Claflin, Douglas Booth, and Dane DeHaan
03:27all screen-tested, with the latter earning the role.
03:30At least I'm not completely helpless.
03:33Shailene Woodley beat out Kristen Stewart and Jane Levy
03:36to play Mary Jane, but was ultimately cut to streamline the story.
03:40Damien Lewis, Mads Mikkelsen, and Jean Dujardin
03:42were contenders for Electro, which ended up going to Jamie Foxx.
03:46But it's my birthday, everybody else is leaving,
03:47why do I have to stay?
03:48Finally, the latest Spider-Man,
03:50who would star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies,
03:52as well as Spider-Man Homecoming,
03:54producers looked at more than 1,500 actors in a search
03:57that was narrowed down to Asa Butterfield, Judah Lewis,
04:00Matthew Lintz, Charlie Plummer, Charlie Rowe, and Tom Holland.
04:05Thanks to his acclaimed performance in The Impossible
04:07and the fact that he was a gymnast and dancer,
04:09it was Holland who eventually won the part.
04:12You're Spider-Boy?
04:15Spider-Man.
04:17Holland next returns to theaters in Spider-Man Far From Home,
04:20and will likely stick around for more.
04:23Are you an Avenger?
04:25Yeah, basically.
04:27who as well are.
04:30All that's true.
