Andrew Garfield Interview: Wants Spider-Man To Be Bisexual Or Gay, But Creator Stan Lee Says ‘One Sex Is Enough’
Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee reacts to actor Andrew Garfield's suggestions that Peter Parker aka Spider-Man could be gay or bisexual in the next film.
Lee spoke at Fandomfest in Louisville, Kentucky, over the weekend. The 90-year-old comics legend was shocked by a question from the audience about Garfield's "request to make Spider-Man bisexual and Mary Jane male," HitFix.com reports, via Comicbook.com.
"He's becoming bisexual?" Lee exclaimed in disbelief. The audiences erupted in laughter in response to his reaction.
"Who have you been talking to? Seriously, I don't know anything about that. And if it's true, I'm going to make a couple of phone calls. I figure one sex is enough for anybody."
Nevertheless, Lee had only praise to share with the audience regarding Andrew's performance and portrayal of Spider-Man.
"I think Andy Garfield is great as Spider-Man, absolutely great. In fact, I would have picked him for the first 'Spider-Man' movie if he had volunteered," Lee said.
Andrew, who just wrapped up filming for "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," originally talked about a conversation he had with a producer about Spider-Man's sexual orientation.
"I was kind of joking, but kind of not joking about MJ," Garfield said to Entertainment Weekly, referring to the character Mary-Jane from the comic. "And I was like, 'What if MJ is a dude?' Why can't we discover that Peter is exploring his sexuality? It's hardly even groundbreaking! ... So why can't he be gay? Why can't he be into boys?" he continued.
The actor explained his comments at the Comic-Con convention.
"It was just a simple, philosophical question about sexual orientation, about prejudice," he said.
He continued: "It was just more a philosophical question, and what I believe about Spider-Man is that he does stand for everybody: black, white, Chinese, Malaysian, gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, transgender. He will put himself in harm's way for anyone. He is colorblind. He's blind to sexual orientation, and that is what he has always represented to me."