Joe Jonas Opens Up About Trying Out For Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man Gig (There’s Always The Multiverse, Bud)

Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Joe Jonas on The Tonight Show
(Image credit: Marvel Studios and NBC)

Many people have played the role of Spider-Man, and it seems like most young male actors have a story about auditioning to be Peter Parker too. Now, Joe Jonas, you know the singer, revealed he was also asking himself “What A Man Gotta Do” to land the role of Peter Parker back in the 2010s. The middle brother of the Jonas Brothers said he had auditioned for The Amazing Spider-Man -- one of the best Spider-Man movies ever, ranked -- and ended up losing the role to Andrew Garfield, and recently shared his thought on learning the news. Hey, there's always the multiverse sometime in the future. 

In a conversation about his new film Devotion with Variety Jonas revealed his story about auditioning to be the web-slinger when asked about failed auditions. The singer elaborated on the experience saying: 

I can name probably a couple. In the moment, you’re destroyed or you’re defeated. But you realize this person was brilliant. I remember years ago I was up for Spider-Man and I was so, so excited and it was the year Andrew Garfield got it. Obviously, he was the right one. But I remember that was a big thing at the time, going back for callbacks and the director used to be a music video director. So I was like, ‘I got an in here.’ But you know what? I love the process of auditioning and putting yourself out there and having to prove yourself.

I can totally see why Jonas would see an in with the film's director Marc Webb given their individual work in the music industry. Before making The Amazing Spider-Man, Webb had directed music videos for Green Day, Avril Lavigne, The All-American Rejects, My Chemical Rejects, and even Disney Channel queen Hilary Duff. Meanwhile, Jonas had released quite a few hit songs with his brothers, including their 2008 bop “Burnin’ Up,” and he starred alongside Demi Lovato in the Disney Channel hit movie Camp Rock. So, they were both making moves, and were in the music industry. I think it was clever for Jonas to use that connection to try and land the role. 

While Joe Jonas may not seem like an obvious choice for Spider-Man, the more I think about it, the more I can see it. I could totally picture him killing some of the scenes in The Amazing Spider-Man specifically, especially the ones where we get to see Peter Parker’s snarky and sarcastic sense of humor shine. Although with the MCU putting a ton of focus on multiverse stories, it seems like just about anything is possible. 

With this story, Jonas now finds himself on quite the list of actors who have auditioned for the role of Peter Parker. This list includes, but is not limited to, Chandler Riggs from The Walking Dead auditioning for the MCU iteration of Spider-Man, and Timothée Chalamet not only auditioned for the role according to THR, but fans are still imagining what Chalamet would look like in Tom Holland’s role

It’s unclear if Spider-Man will be back in Marvel’s upcoming movies, but for now, we can always go back and watch the Marvel movies in order. As for Jonas, we might not get to see him swing around New York City, but you can see him fly through the sky in Devotion, which is currently in theaters according to the 2022 movie schedule.   

Riley Utley
Weekend Editor

Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.