The Amazing Spider-Man franchise was meant to be massive, as it was Sony's answer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
After Sam Raimi's successful Spider-Man trilogy, Marc Webb was brought on board and put in charge of launching this new Spiderverse, which would've led to a host of other movies, including The Sinister Six and Venom.
The box-office returns for the two movies weren't as amazing as Sony expected, however, while the second movie received a lot of criticism for being overstuffed and unfocused.
The famous Sony leaks didn't help matters much, either, so Sony pulled the plug on the franchise and rebooted with Marvel's assistance, casting Tom Holland as the new Spidey.
In a Variety interview, Andrew Garfield, who portrayed Peter Parker/Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man movies, opened up about some of the struggles he experienced with the franchise.
"There's something about being that young in that kind of machinery which I think is really dangerous. I was still young enough to struggle with the value system, I suppose, of corporate America really, it's a corporate enterprise mostly," he said.
"I signed up to serve the story, and to 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 to a certain degree," Garfield stated.
Still, looking back at the series, there's a ton of history and tidbits that make for interesting superhero trivia.
It's time to explore the 20 Crazy Behind-The-Scenes Details About The Amazing Spider-Man Movies.
Michael Fassbender Was Almost The Lizard
After his star-making role in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourius Basterds, Michael Fassbender was fortunate enough to cherry-pick his next project.
Two of the big offers dumped in his lap were Dr. Curt Connors/Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man and Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto in X-Men: First Class.
As we all know, Fassbender chose Magneto and has gone on to have a successful career in the X-Men movie franchise, even eclipsing the great Sir Ian McKellan's performances in several instances.
Considering how that franchise is still going strong, he certainly made the right choice.
Rhys Ifans portrayed Dr. Connors instead, delivering a memorable performance.
Sadly, we didn't get to see him again in the series, nor are we likely to witness him as the Lizard again.
Brian Michael Bendis Advised Sony About The Webshooters
Sony doesn't always have the best track record in of Spider-Man decisions, so it was surprising to hear that the studio actually called in an expert, Brian Michael Bendis, to assist on a superhero-related matter - even if the answer to the question lay in the comic books, but we digress.
"[Before The Amazing Spider-Man], they sat me down in Amy Pascal's office with this big roomful of producers and writers and directors, and she looked at me and said 'Organic webshooters or mechanical webshooters?'" Bendis told Yahoo.
"I said 'Mechanical,' and half the table said, 'Goddamn it!' They were mad because I was clearly the deciding vote, even though I didn't know that. So when I see the mechanical webshooters, I feel a little happiness," he said.
Dane DeHaan Lost Seven Pounds In Two Days
Dane DeHaan didn't have the best time in the Green Goblin suit on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 set. Reportedly, he suffered from severe heat exhaustion when he wore the getup.
The filmmakers took measures to help the actor out, but it had another consequence, as DeHaan revealed to Vanity Fair.
"They got me this cooling vest – I wore it underneath the suit, it has these tubes so in between takes I would hook up to a cooler full of ice water and it would pump ice water through me and keep my core cooler," he said. "But I lost seven pounds in two days of filming! Which was pretty much all the weight I'd put on for the movie."
Emma Stone And Andrew Garfield's Romance
Sometimes, you find love in the strangest place. In the case of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, they found it on The Amazing Spider-Man set.
While the romance didn't blossom until closer to the movie's release, Garfield revealed the moment he fell head over heels for his co-star to Teen Vogue.
"It was like I woke up when she came in. She was the last person to screen-test, and I was so bored of it by then that I was mucking about. And then she came in, and it was like diving into white-water rapids and having no desire to hang on to the side," he said.
The two are reported to have broken up in 2015, after dating for four years.
Emma Stone ed On 21 Jump Street For This Franchise
It's safe to say that Emma Stone is one of the biggest movie stars on Earth right now, as well as an Oscar winner.
Before The Amazing Spider-Man, though, her momentum was starting to gather steam in Hollywood.
In fact, she had a choice to make over whether to star in the Spidey flick or the 21 Jump Street remake. Stone took some time before choosing to play Gwen Stacy instead of goofing off with Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill.
However, she did tell MTV that Hill is one of her favorite people in the world.
She got her chance to star with him in the Netflix series Maniac, which is due to be released in September.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Was Shot Entirely In New York
Spidey's home is New York. It has been for many years and the character has become a symbol of the city.
Unlike fictional places like Gotham or Metropolis, you'd think that Spider-Man movies would be shot entirely in New York, since it already exists and would add more authenticity to the movies.
As it turns out, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was actually the first Spidey movie to be shot entirely in the actual city.
Production ranged from Manhattan to Long Island to the upstate of Rochester and Albany.
It might've taken a while to happen, but it finally did and the authentic New York feel of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 just gives the film that extra-special feeling.
Paul Giamatti's Conan O'Brien Omen
In an interview with Conan O'Brien in 2011, Paul Giamatti revealed that he'd love to play the Rhino in a Spidey movie.
No one knew it back then, but Giamatti's interview played a role in him securing the part.
In an interview with CraveOnline, The Amazing Spider-Man 2's director, Marc Webb, revealed, "The real truth is, I saw Paul Giamatti on Conan O'Brien, talking about the Rhino and how much he loved it and I was like, I love Paul Giamatti and I think he's such a brilliant actor, so, I wanted to incorporate that enthusiasm that he had in the movie."
See? If you put good vibes into the universe, they'll come back to you.
Josh Hutcherson Auditioned To Be Spider-Man
When the news broke that Tobey Maguire was no longer Spider-Man and a new actor would be cast in the role, numerous names were thrown around.
Some of the names highlighted were completely unbelievable and tabloid fodder, while others were serious contenders.
Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) was an actor who badly wanted the part.
His name was constantly mentioned in the press in the lead-up to The Amazing Spider-Man, but he obviously failed to convince Sony as much as Garfield did.
However, Hutcherson's audition tape did make it onto the internet (and you can view it here). It looks a little campy and CW-esque, if you ask us, but he does seem to nail the geeky Peter Parker facet quite well.
The Dog In The Amazing Spider-Man 2
We've already discussed how Garfield and Stone found love on the set of The Amazing Spider-Man.
A little while afterwards, the two adopted a pup named Ren.
The unsuspecting dog became a superstar in his own right, as he featured in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The scene in question is when Peter is spying on Gwen as she walks the dog.
It's a darn shame that Ren didn't get nominated for an award of some kind, as he certainly outshone numerous other cast .
The million-dollar question is, who has custody of him now that Garfield and Stone broke up? We certainly hope that he's still doing fine wherever he is and enjoyed his 15 seconds of fame.
Irrfan Khan Shut Down Hopes Of Proto-Goblin
Irrfan Khan is a renowned actor and he's particularly picky about his parts. In fact, he wasn't interested in The Amazing Spider-Man at all, but his children twisted his arm and he eventually caved in to their demands.
At first, the rumors indicated that Khan would be portraying a villain named Van Atter. Fans immediately thought this was in tribute to Nels Van Adder, a character who transformed into Proto-Goblin.
Khan, though, ended up being Oscorp executive Dr. Rajit Ratha.
The reason for this change is reportedly because he told Marc Webb that he didn't want to be a masked villain or turn into another creature in the movie.
As such, the director went for a different approach.
