10 Times Recasting Iconic Characters Actually Worked

8. Spider-Man

The Original: Tobey Maguire The Recast: Andrew Garfield The Amazing Spider-Man has, from conception, been ruled by the studio. Sony needed to make another Spider-Man film quickly before the rights to the character reverted to Marvel and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 was taking too long; a reboot was their only option. There's a lot to be disappointed about in the two recent Spidey flicks, but that doesn't mean they're devoid of positives. On top of the improved web-swinging effects, the films boast a solid protagonist. Who out of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield plays a better Peter Parker will be a contentious subject for years to come, but the fact the debate can exist at all shows that Garfield has done an admirable job. Audiences really connected to Maguire's performance - sure he's dopey, but that's the point of Peter Parker - and there was initial doubt anyone could fill the suit convincingly. Garfield isn't the conventional nerd from the comics (which Maguire very convincingly embodied), but he gets more opportunity to give Peter Parker depth (director Marc Webb's history with (500) Days Of Summer shining through). The script often leaves him lumbered with bland material, particularly on the superhero side of things, but when he's just being a regular teen, interacting with an equally brilliant Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey, he's a delight.