2002’s Spider-Man celebrates its 20th anniversary today, May 3, and fans are reminiscing about the film and its lasting legacy. One such story from years ago that is making the rounds again today is how star Tobey Maguire was “practically suffocating” while filming the now-iconic upside-down kiss scene.
For anyone just catching up, in this memorable scene, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) kisses Spider-Man after the web-slinger saves her in New York City. Maguire said that while this scene looked romantic, it was actually very challenging to perform and left him gasping for air.
“There was rain pouring down my nose … and then Kirsten pulls the mask up to [my nose] and it’s blocking the air passage there, so I couldn’t breathe,” he said (via The Hollywood Reporter). “And then she’s kissing me, blocking the air passage there, so there’s nowhere else to breathe.”
Maguire said he needed to draw quick breaths from the side of his mouth while kissing Dunst to get enough oxygen. “It was really tough, actually,” he said. “It was very challenging. They’d yell cut, and I would be [gasping for air], totally out of breath. It was torture. It makes you realize how important oxygen is.”
Spider-Man, which was directed by Sam Raimi, earned $825 million at the global box office and spawned multiple sequels. A new series, The Amazing Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield, followed, with a new trilogy featuring Tom Holland as Spider-Man coming after that. According to a report, plans are underway for another new trilogy with Holland, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Holland wants a break from acting. Holland has also advocated for a Spider-Woman film.
The next Spider-Man movie is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which has 240 characters, and debuts in June 2023. A sequel to that movie, Beyond the Spider-Verse, is slated for 2024.
As for Raimi, he directed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which releases on May 6. For more, check out GameSpot’s Multiverse of Madness review. Raimi has also said he might be interested in returning to direct another Spider-Man film someday.
