Sony Reportedly Hired Spider-Man Star Jake Gyllenhaal as Tobey Maguire Wanted a Hefty Pay Deal
Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man starred Tobey Maguire as the titular character which is the first film in Sam Raimi’s trilogy about Spider-Man. However, it was said that for the 2004 sequel, which again starred Tom Holland as Spider-Man, the actor was contemplating being replaced by another popular performer.
The origin narrative of the character is told in Tobey Maguire’s 2002 film, which also stars Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Willem Dafoe, Rosemary Harris, and Cliff Robertson. Following its premiere, the film got enthusiastic reviews from both the public and critics, which prompted the production of its sequels.
Tobey Maguire felt he wasn’t being properly compensated for the sequel
According to reports, the studio had decided to hire Jake Gyllenhaal to replace Tobey Maguire in the sequel movie Spider-Man 2, which premiered in 2004. Maguire’s following project, Seabiscuit, was also critically acclaimed and the actor was highly praised for his physical transformation.
In an interview with The Racing Post, he said,
“I was working out and getting really strong and losing a lot of weight, but when you get on a real horse, it’s a whole different deal. You’re using all the stabilizing muscles in your legs and balancing on the balls of your feet on this 1-200-pound elite athlete.”
Then in 2003, a report by Variety suggested that the actor who performed exceptionally well in his superhero debut movie and the audience loved him was considered to be replaced by Jake Gyllenhaal and the reason mentioned was the negotiation of the money.
It was reported that the actor felt that his sequel’s compensation did not reflect the more than $30 million that the producer Laura Ziskin had earned from the first movie. It was also at the same time known that Maguire’s back problems were also a ploy to negotiate for more money.
Studio hired Jake Gyllenhaal as Tobey Maguire’s replacement
After the negotiations between Maguire and the studio didn’t reach a solution, the studios decided to recast the actor’s part in Spider-Man 2 and Jake Gyllenhaal was finalized for the part.
According to L.A. Times, the director said at the Spider-Man 2 press junket in 2004 via CheatSheet,
“I didn’t want to do something so irresponsible that I’d regret it for the rest of my life. I was told that his back was in such a state that if it got injured anymore, it could maybe lead to paralysis. I can’t be irresponsible, I can’t make a movie about responsibility and then grab this kid and do these stunts where he’s going to be paralyzed. And, I can’t compromise the movie either.”
Jake Gyllenhaal’s name was never mentioned but producer Avi Arad would have given Sam Raimi the green signal if Tobey Maguire hadn’t passed all of his medical tests and Raimi noted that at the moment he thought that the actor was now responsible enough to make a choice.
Avi Arad said, “We would have supported the recasting” before he added, but it would have been a tragedy because Tobey is Peter and Peter is Tobey.
Jake Gyllenhaal confirms the recasting rumors, states there were some conversations
In 2004, Maguire who eventually played the role of Spider-Man in the sequel shared,
“First of all, this is a back condition I’ve had for three or four years, on and off. Sometimes it doesn’t really bother me at all, sometimes it bothers me a little, sometimes a lot. Coming off of Seabiscuit was bugging me a lot, not because of Seabiscuit. I did not injure my back on the Seabiscuit. That was a false report.”
He mentioned that he felt responsible for disclosing his medical condition to the studios, the insurance company, and the maker. He added,
“They were understandably concerned. I understood that they had a multi-multi-million dollar investment that they had a start date for and an entire crew hired for, and everything was rushing towards a date five weeks away, to start this picture.”
Where Maguire didn’t mention recasting rumors, Jake Gyllenhaal was asked about it during the promotion of Spider-Man: Far From Home and he said he had heard the same thing but the truth of the matter is that Tobey Maguire is Spider-Man, before adding that there was some conversation around that adding that there were a couple of actors in the run for it and he was one of those.
Jake Gyllenhaal later starred as the villain Mysterio in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Far From Home.
