Comic-Con: Andrew Garfield Wants Spider-Man To Join The Avengers – Gasp!

Comic-Con: Andrew Garfield Wants Spider-Man To Join The Avengers – Gasp!

Ross Lincoln contributes to Deadline’s Comic-Con coverage.

Andrew Garfield revealed today that the Spider-Man story he’d most like to see made into a film is one that is legally impossible, at least for the moment. “I’d love to see [Spider-Man] with The Avengers,” he said, to audible gasps, during the Sony Pictures panel discussion of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 at Comic-Con. “Wouldn’t that just be awesome? Just saying.”

Sadly for everyone drooling at the prospect of Spider-Man joining that Marvel superhero squad, it’s not going to happen as long as Sony retains the rights to the character. And judging by the presentation during tonight, the company expects to retain them for the foreseeable future. Sony clearly expects Amazing Spider-Man 2 to be a huge hit. During the first half of the discussion, the participants — co-stars Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan and, eventually, Garfield, along with director mark Webb and producers Ari Avad and Matt Tolmach — didn’t even attempt to sell the movie; instead, after a short film depicting him attempting to sneak into Hall H, Garfield appeared dressed and in character as Spider-Man, then spent 10 minutes wisecracking with the cast.

Related: Comic-Con: Jamie Foxx’s ‘Electro Arrives’ Clip

They did eventually get around to selling Amazing Spider-Man 2, starting with the first-ever clip of impressive footage, organized into a trailer with some scenes augmented by storyboard art. Focused heavily on tone — as well as Foxx’s Electro, revealed to be the primary villain — the clip indicated a far more fun film that its dour predecessor. Depicted as a put-upon, ignored man seething with frustration, Electro is the polar opposite of Garfield’s now-wisecracking Spidey. “I wanted Electro to be a serious individual that wants to burn the city down,” Foxx said later, “and burn Spider-Man along with it.”

Bucking the norm for panel discussions, the fan Q&A proved to be lively and funny and, in a couple of instances, the impetus for insightful comment from the cast. In addition to his well-received suggestion of putting Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Garfield also ably advocated for sexual equality. Referencing comments Garfield made recently that he’d like to see Spider-Man in an interracial, same-sex relationship, one fan asked if it was hard for someone famous to express opinions on controversial social issues. Garfield replied that he doesn’t believe his comments were remarkable. “First and foremost, I’m an actor,” he said, “and I only want to be an actor right now. But Spider-Man stands for everybody — black, white, Asian, gay, straight. To me it’s not a social issue. Love between to consenting adults its love. Why anyone would bat an eyelash at what I said is beyond me. The thing is, (Spider-Man) is under a mask, he could be anyone under that. To gay, straight, black, white or anyone, he’s just a hero. He stands for the underdog, and he stands for what needs protecting.”

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