The Sony Hack in 2014 drastically changed Hollywood. Multiple movies were canceled. People were fired. And everything from the details of Simon Cowell's sneaky attempt to fire Howard Stern from America's Got Talent to the actual James Bond Spectre script was released for the public to see.
It may also be the root of why some people believe Hollywood "blacklisted" Andrew Garfield. At the very least, it exposed why he left his role as Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man.
The Emails Revealed Garfield's Snubbing
Nowadays, Andrew Garfield is only really ever in the news because he's one of the few guys rocking a boat shoe... Yeah, it's pretty quiet out there for him.
Many believe that his career shriveled up after he left (or was fired?) from The Amazing Spider-Man movies. Of the three leading men who've portrayed Peter Parker/Spider-Man on the big-screen, Garfield is the least appreciated. This is probably because his two Spider-Man movies were of the lowest-rated, according to Rotten Tomatoes. But the problems with his Spider-Man had more to do with the scripts and direction than they did with him. He was a perfectly good Spider-Man... And yet... he was re-cast.
To be fair, Sony went in a whole different direction with their Spider-Man films when they struck a deal with Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe for the cross-over movies. But emails found in The Sony Hack depicted tension between the studio and Garfield.
It all started with Garfield being open about studio interference in the films which included getting rid of "deep scenes" that explored his character in greater detail. But the straw that broke the cameras back had to do with promotion.
According to The Independent, Sony boss Kaz Hirai was set to announce a third Amazing Spider-Man film in a speech to a 750 people crowd in Rio. Garfield had flown in to attend the event, but he canceled at the last minute...
In the emails, a Sony executive said, "Here we are about one hour away from our Gala event and Andrew decides he doesn't want to attend. He has a rather scruffy beard and he just wants to be left alone."
The responding emails depicted how angry and embarrassed the other executives were that they had to inform Hirai that the center of his event (and his speech) wasn't going to attend as of an hour before it was set to start.
Soon after this event, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was canceled.
Coincidence?
We think not.
Garfield Is Self-Reflective But Stands By His Choices
A couple of interviews have depicted Andrew Garfield has somewhat indifferent to losing his Spider-Man gig. This is because he felt like he was being authentic to who he was at the time.
During an interview with The Guardian, Garfield said that he in no way tried to "self-sabotage" his films but he also said that he wouldn't willingly "compromise" who he was and that came into conflict with others. But this inflexibility also proved to be somewhat naive, so he claimed himself.
In a conversation with Amy Adams in Variety's 'Actors on Actors', Garfield said scoring the role aged 27 was "dangerous"
"I signed up to serve the story and serve this incredible character that I've been dressing as since I was three, and then it gets compromised and it breaks your heart. I got heartbroken a little bit."
Garfield's Other Spider-Man Idea Could've Angered The Studio
According to Pride.com, rumors of Andrew Garfield's attempt to make Peter Parker bisexual could've caused the studio to freak. This story is still just a rumor, but Garfield has been vocal about his desire to see stronger representation in the Spider-Man films. Specifically when he comes to the gay and bi communities. And apparently director Marc Webb was all for it too... But the studio was deadset on keeping Peter Parker's love-interests exclusively female.
No, Spider-Man cannot swing both ways.... according to them at least.
This rumor seems to be backed up by the hacked Sony emails that claim that they are under contractual obligation to keep Peter Parker "white and straight", according to Variety. Included in the same clause is less scandalous requirements including " [Spider-Man] does not use foul language beyond PG-13; does not smoke tobacco; does not sell/distribute illegal drugs."
Was He Actually Blacklisted?
Garfield has appeared in a couple of independent films since he left the Amazing Spider-Man movies. Namely, Breathe and Under The Silver Lake. He also appeared in Martin Scorsese's least publicized film, Silence.
And then in 2016, Garfield starred in Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge, a flick that earned him an Oscar nomination.
But that's just two big movies in more than five years...
Scorsese aside, it definitely says something that Garfield was hired by another seemingly blacklisted A-list celebrity like Gibson. At the very least, many believe that Gibson is one of the few A-listers who should be legitimately canceled due to his consistent anti-Semitic, sexist, and racist opinions. As opposed to Garfield who simply ran afoul of a studio.
But it does seem as though Hollywood is far less interested in Andrew Garfield than they used to be.
Given that Andrew Garfield went from Oscar-bait (namely The Social Network, Lions For Lambs, and Never Let Me Go) to superhero films, and then to almost nothing... It definitely appears as though that he's in this position not by his own choosing.