Spider-Man is synonymous with him in this life.
He's Toby Maguire.
In the minds of many, he is the best Spider-Man, or even the only Spider-Man.
But the series of movies will eventually come to an end. The old "Spider-Man" trilogy ended in a short period of 5 years, and Toby Maguire, who stepped down as Spider-Man, gradually faded from public view.
Instead of continuing to shine on the big screen like his good friend Leonardo DiCaprio, he chose to switch to behind-the-scenes.
Unconsciously, it has been almost 6 years, and he has not reappeared as an actor.
Why didn't he become a superstar through Spider-Man's aura?
Is his career still successful?
When will it return to the big screen?
Let's go back to 2007's Spider-Man 3.
At first glance, the box office of "Spider-Man 3" is profitable, and the decline in word-of-mouth is also within the acceptable range, and there is no collapse, let alone a failure.
But it was the end of the series and a turning point in Toby Maguire's career.
In fact, the film's Sony Pictures plans to continue to let directors Sam Remy and Toby shoot together, and even have the fourth and fifth back-to-back shooting.
The second and third parts of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, which were released in 2006 and 2007, were set shots and were successful. And Sam Remy's scheme has multiple villains in it, and it's appropriate to split into two films.
The problem is, Sam Remy is not given absolute control. In "Spider-Man 3", he had a disagreement with the producer, which directly led to the confusion of the story line of the film.
The contradiction was further fermented in the preparation process of the fourth film, and the script was delayed in being determined. If you continue like this, even if you shoot it, it will be difficult to shoot well. Sam Remy had already tried it once, Spider-Man 3 barely passed, and then he couldn't guarantee it, and the time was so tight that he had to give up.
Sony didn't want to waste it either and decided to restart.
If Toby Maguire can continue to play Spider-Man, just like Johnny Depp's Captain Jack can continue, as long as the movie still sells, his value can rise further, thus reaching the level of a real superstar.
With greater influence, he can take on more roles, have more suitable roles for him, and more audiences who pay attention to him.
Of course, he may also be limited by the Spider-Man label, but this does not affect his transformation into a superstar.
Two years after stepping down as Spider-Man, he's still a pure actor.
In 2009 he brought a new work, "Brothers" with Jack Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman.
This is an opportunity for him to win the award and further improve his position.
Unfortunately, "Brothers" only helped him nominate for a Golden Globe Award.
Toby Maguire seems to be very deliberate in his selection of films.
From 2010 to 2020, he starred in only 4 productions, with another special performance.
One of the most well-known is "The Great Gatsby" with his good friend DiCaprio.
The others are not commercial blockbusters, fame and value, inevitably plummeting.
It may not actually be because he's too picky, but he started his own production company in 2008 and launched his first work as a producer in 2010.
It was "Folk Song Love" starring "Little Pepper" Gwyneth Paltrow, nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song, but the box office in North America was only 5 million more than 15 million costs, there is no overseas market, it is estimated to be a loss.
That didn't dampen Toby's enthusiasm as a producer.
In 2012 he was involved in a larger project, also a musical theme, featuring Tom Cruise's Rock 'n' Roll Years, which cost $75 million.
However, Adam Shankman, the producer of the "Dance Out of My Life" series, personally directed it, but he messed up. Under the bad word of mouth, the global box office only recovered 59.4186 million.
Presumably, this fiasco forced Toby to return to commercial blockbusters, starring in the following year's "The Great Gatsby" and a special performance in Kate Winslet's "Emotional Holidays".
He then changed his strategy, not only as a producer himself, but also as a personal actor.
In early 2014, he brought the drama series "The Fall of Babylon", and the film "Chess To Win" was exhibited at the Toronto Film Festival, which was released in 2015.
However, because it is a literary film, there is basically no box office, and the awards season cannot be squeezed in.
Change the strategy again.
Engaged in commercial film headquarters, right?
The sci-fi film "The Fifth Wave", produced by Toby Maguire's own company, has finally passed the box office performance.
38 million costs, the world received more than 100 million box office, that is, the reputation is relatively bad, the sequel directly did not play.
After earning money on the dubbing of "Baby Boss", three films in which Toby Maguire participated in the production of 2019 were released.
Maybe he made some money in front of him, or maybe he felt that commercial films were too risky, this time he was engaged in low-cost films, anyway, he did not rely on the box office to make a lot of money. Not to mention whether there is money or not, the works he has launched are not very outstanding.
Overall, his post-Spider-Man career as a producer has not been a success for the time being.
Related to him is actually a film that has entered the awards season.
First directed by Ellen Sorkin and starring Jessica Chastain, "Jasmine Poker Game" is based on Jasmine Bloom's autobiographical memoir published in 2014.
When the original book was published, it caused a huge sensation, because Jasmine Bloom's private poker game involved many Hollywood superstars.
After the beauty ace was investigated by the FBI, the stars retreated, and Toby Maguire had nothing to do, at most the $311,000 that was reported to have won in the poker game in 2011 and needed to be returned because the game was illegal.
But Jasmine Bloom, in her autobiography, named Toby for being very unqualified in the private game, gambling badly, and asked her to "bark like a seal" and call for $1,000.
The reason Why Toby is so rampant is because he is very strong and always a winner. When he lost, he scolded and grinned, looking like he couldn't afford to lose.
As soon as it was exposed, Toby Maguire's fan filter was broken.
After that, the label associated with him is no longer Spider-Man, but gambling.
When promoting the show "Winning Chess", he was asked whether the money won by gambling was taxed? How many wins did you win at the most?
He had to admit that he made a lot of money by playing cards, and could only declare that he paid taxes according to the regulations, which was a legitimate income, and reduced doubts.
As for how much he had won, he didn't dare to say.
Then he stopped acting, and a bigger reason emerged.
He may be more of a card player than a movie.
He competed in the World Series of Poker back in 2005, although by then he had already made a name for himself as Spider-Man.
And it's easier to play cards and make money than to make movies.
After the "Spider-Man" trilogy, he was able to put more energy into poker. If you become a superstar, why do you have so much time to play?
Due to the impact of the Jasmine Bloom incident, his image was damaged, and it became difficult to become a star again.
The incident also appears to have affected his family.
He and his wife separated in 2016 and divorced in 2020.
Gambling ruined the original Spider-Man claim, and it is inevitable that it will circulate on the Internet.
June 27 this year marks Toby Maguire's 46th birthday.
This age is not old for an actor.
So will he still have a chance to reunite with the audience?
If Spider-Man: Homeless doesn't have the rumors that he makes a cameo as Spider-Man again, it doesn't matter, he still has a chance to appear in "City of Philharmonic City" director Damien Chazere's new film Babylon.
He is one of the producers of the "20s version of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", and there are sources that he has joined the starring cast, but further confirmation is still needed.
Babylon has been finalized with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie as male and female number one, and the story is set in the transition period from silent to sound films in Hollywood, which is an absolute awards season blockbuster.
To be sure, Toby Maguire is not as obsessed with acting as his good friend Little Plum.
He has his choice.
If he doesn't return to the screen, let him exist in memory and imagery.
There, he's still the unparalleled Spider-Man.