Andrew Garfield has reaffirmed his belief that Spider-Man could be portrayed as gay, revisiting the viral comments he first made in 2013 while starring as Peter Parker. The remarks come as Tom Holland's Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues its record-breaking run at the box office, prompting renewed speculation about the future direction of the franchise and who might eventually take over the role from Holland.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly 13 years after his original comments, Garfield described them as "an exercise in rebellion" and said he still believes "anyone can be in that suit," arguing that Spider-Man's appeal lies in being a character free of fixed race, gender or sexuality. Meanwhile, Brand New Day has topped the US box office for five consecutive weekends, become the second-highest-grossing film in American history, and earned a 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, though Marvel boss Kevin Feige says Holland will rest before any further instalments are planned; Holland himself has said a succession plan has been in development since Spider-Man: No Way Home.