Andrew Garfield calls for a pansexual Spider-Man
The actor has said that he cannot wait to see a more sexually diverse version of the web slinging superhero.
Andrew Garfield has said in a recent interview that he doesn’t “give a shit about the sexual preference” of Spider-Man.
“I’m excited to get to the point where we don’t have to have this conversation,” he said, “where we can have a pansexual Spider-Man.”
“The richness of the world we’re in, the diversity of the world we’re in; you look at the animal kingdom and you see it reflected,” he told Mic.
“You look all over,” he continued. “What are we so scared of? Why are we so, ‘No, it has to be this way, a man and a woman.’ Why is that even a conversation?”
His comments come after leaked emails from film studio Sony revealed that the infamous comic book character is not allowed to be black or gay.
The emails were from Marvel – who own the Spider-Man character – to Sony Pictures, who made the most recent blockbuster Spider-Man films – stipulating the terms of the franchise.
The list of “mandatory character traits” that Peter Parker and alter ago Spider-Man must adhere to include being male, white and heterosexual.
The guidelines state that any other character who is not Peter Parker who takes on the Spider-Man alter ego must also be straight – “unless Marvel has portrayed that alter ego as homosexual”.
Spider-Man is also not allowed to smoke, sell or take drugs, use bad language, or have sex before the age of 16.
However, Garfield could not disagree more – arguing that the beauty of the character is that you cannot see what is under the suit – and so cannot judge the person wearing it.
“The beauty about Spider-Man, for me, is that he’s covered head to toe,” he said.
“That’s why everyone thinks it could be them in that suit. You don’t see skin color. You don’t see sexual orientation.
“You don’t see how old the person is, gender, the whole thing. I celebrate that. Anyone can be a hero in their own lives.”
This isn’t the first time the actor has championed a rethink of the character’s sexuality – in 2013, Garfield said he would love to play a gay or bisexual Spider-Man, but then backtracked on the idea and said it was “just not going to work“.
Spider-Man creator Stan Lee also dismissed the idea of a bisexual Spider-Man saying “He’s becoming bisexual? Really? Who have you been talking to?
“I figure one sex is enough for anybody.”
