Spider-Man 3 received a lot of flack upon release, not least for its controversial casting decisions – but Marvel fans are now arguing that one of the movie’s new actors could have been a perfect Peter Parker. Although it is difficult to choose which Spider-Man was the best cast in the three iterations of the webslinger on the big screen, that hasn’t stopped the fan-casting train from forging ahead. In the case of this latest argument, however, the fans definitely have a point.
The argument sprang from a post via X/Twitter in which user NirvanaM1ndDX suggested that Topher Grace would have been better cast as Peter Parker rather than Eddie Brock. This led another user, VicPerfecto, to reveal pretty stark similarities between Grace’s character Eric from That 70s Show and Peter Parker as portrayed in the 1994 Spider-Man animated series. The side-by-side images certainly help the argument, with both Peter and Eric wearing almost identical shirts while sporting very similar hairstyles.
Why Topher Grace Would Have Been A Perfect Live-Action Spider-Man
Topher Grace would have offered more to the role than visual similarities, of course, although they are striking. His portrayal of Eric on That 70s Show is all the credentials he needs to show how well he can embody the character of a nerdy nice guy with a dry wit and affable demeanor. In fact, part of what made Grace’s casting as Eddie Brock so controversial was how he jarred with Brock’s far more severe and brash personality, traits that Grace is not exactly famous for conveying.
With that being said, it’s worth mentioning how Eddie Brock in Spider-Man 3 was a dark reflection of Parker, embodying all the traits that Parker did not possess. This, which tracks with the “dark side” motif of the entire movie, could go some way to explaining why Grace was cast as Brock in the first place. It could be the case that Raimi and the casting directors agreed with the sentiment that Grace would have made a great Spider-Man, so inserted him as Spider-Man’s opposite instead as a tribute to that fact.
In the end, it was a shame that this theme couldn’t have been explored in more depth in Spider-Man 3. Between Raimi not being fully committed to the Venom character and Venom being a part of a bloated rogues gallery, Grace’s time in the live-action Spider-Man realm was cut short even as a villain thanks to the negatives of Spider-Man 3. That is not to say, however, that Marvel won’t pick up on Grace’s similarities and cast him as an older MCU Peter Parker variant in the future.
