"I understand why people are freaking out about the concept of that because I'm a fan as well," Garfield said in a new interview with Variety. "You can't help but imagine scenes and moments of 'Oh, my God, how fucking cool would it be if they did that?'"
The 38-year-old actor doubled down on his denial, saying: "But it's important for me to say on the record that this is not something I'm aware I am involved in. But I know I'm not going to be able to say anything that will convince anyone that I don't know what's happening. No matter what I say, I'm fucked. It's either going to be really disappointing for people or it's going to be really exciting."
Maguire was the first actor to portray Peter Parker/Spider-Man in a major movie, beginning with "Spider-Man" in 2002. He returned for sequels released in 2004 and 2007 as part of Sam Raimi's trilogy.
Garfield took over the mantle years later, portraying the webslinger in Sony's "The Amazing Spider-Man" movies that hit theaters in 2012 and 2014.
Garfield later spoke candidly about feeling "heartbroken" by the direction his franchise went in, telling Amy Adams: "Story and character were actually not top of the priority list, ultimately, and I found that really, really tricky."
Andrew Garfield the Amazing Spider MAn
Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. Sony Pictures
Rumors of Garfield and Maguire's involvement in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" have persisted since 2020.
In October 2020, FandomWire published an article stating that, according to an unnamed source at Sony (the studio that co-produces the films with Marvel), the two actors signed on to reprise their roles in the forthcoming movie.