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

Michael Fassbender in XMen First Class

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

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man

Sony doesn't always have the best track record in terms 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 as the Green Goblin in The Amazing Spider-Man 2

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 Passed On 21 Jump Street For This Franchise

Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2

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 upcoming Netflix series Maniac, which is due to be released in September.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Was Shot Entirely In New York

Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man 2

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

Aleksei climbing out of a truck in The Amazing Spider-Man 2

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

Josh Hutcherson in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

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

Ren 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 members.

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 in The Amazing Spider-Man

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.

The Rhino's Suit

Paul Giamatti in The Amazing Spider-Man 2

There was a lot of controversy around the Rhino's suit in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, as fans had expected the more traditional garb.

However, the movie went with the Ultimate Spider-Man costume for the character.

In terms of how the suit was brought to life on the big screen, it was a mixture of CGI and the actor wearing a rig during the shoot.

Truth be told, after seeing the Rhino teased in the bulk of the promo material and the movie poster, you would've expected him to have had a more significant role – or at least more screen time.

Instead, it was nothing more than a glorified cameo to tease The Sinister Six movie.

James Horner Disliked The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Jamie Foxx as Electro facing off against Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man

After producing a memorable score for The Amazing Spider-Man, you'd think that James Horner would be back for the sequel.

While he was meant to return, he declined the offer.

"[Marc Webb] was very inexperienced and he and I had a very good relationship and the producers had their own opinion. And they didn't want his input. And then Sony had their own; they just wanted action," he told his fansite.

"The whole thing about doing the movie was I liked the director and there was a chance to write something for the two lead characters. But the next movie ended up being so terrible; I didn't want to do it. It was just dreadful," Horner said.

Annie Parisse's Scenes Were Cut

Annie Parisse in Law and Order

In the comic books, Dr. Connors' family played an important part in his life, as he struggled with being a man and creature.

In The Amazing Spider-Man, however, they were nowhere to be found. But this wasn't always the case.

Actress Annie Parisse, of Law & Order fame, was cast as Connors' wife, while a young actor was cast as the couple's son. Unfortunately, neither of them made the final cut of the movie.

It's a bit strange, really, since a quick shot of Connors' family wouldn't have taken up too much screen time.

Additionally, it would've assisted in showing the humanity of the character that was being turned into a beast and thus would've given him more dynamism.

Venom And Carnage Were Teased In Promo Material

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 had a nifty promotional campaign for the movie, as a Tumblr account was created for the Daily Bugle.

Unfortunately, some of the topics of the Bugle's articles weren't included in the final cut of the film.

One particular piece was written by a certain Eddie Brock and covers the capture of Cletus Kasady. If you're unfamiliar with those names, Eddie is better known as Venom, while Cletus is Carnage.

Inevitably, this was a neat build-up to the appearances of these characters down the line.

While it was always unlikely that they'd show up in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, at least this was a reasonable attempt at world building without stuffing these two characters into the movie.

Mary Jane's Scenes Were Cut

In an effort to cram as much as humanly possible into one movie, Mary Jane Watson was actually cast and filmed for The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Actress Shailene Woodley portrayed MJ, but her scenes were eventually removed from the final cut.

In hindsight, it was probably a good idea to remove MJ from the movie altogether. After Peter loses Gwen, there's no need to set-up his next romance so quickly. Allow the poor boy some time to grieve the loss of his beloved girlfriend.

Moreover, there were already far too many characters in the movie. Someone like MJ deserves a proper arc and should therefore not to be a stuffed cameo appearance or tease for a future production.

The Man In The Shadows Is The Gentleman

The Gentleman in The Amazing Spider-Man 2

One of the biggest unsolved mysteries in The Amazing Spider-Man movies was the mysterious man in the shadows, as portrayed by Michael Massee.

He seemed to be putting together the Sinister Six, and had the universe panned out the way that Sony wanted, his identity would've inevitably been revealed.

"We were talking about the Sinister Six. They were going to make a Sinister Six movie before we did the third one," Marc Webb explained to Den of Geek, before revealing the identity of Massee's character.

"And then there was that character called The Gentleman. We had some notions about how to do it, but I think maybe we were thinking too far ahead when we started building in those things," Webb stated.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Poster Spoiled The Movie

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 poster

It's important that the marketing team is in sync with filmmakers, but it seems like no one at Sony spoke to each other, as the movie's theatrical poster spoiled specific plot events.

For one, no one knew that Harry Osborn was going to appear as the Green Goblin in the movie's final act, but he still appeared on the poster in all of his disgusting glory.

Oh, and speculation about Gwen's fate in the movie was pretty much confirmed.

Additionally, the Rhino's design was spoiled, even if he only appeared in costume at the very end of the movie.

Couldn't Sony have left a few surprises for the audience instead of posting blatant spoilers in all of its marketing material?

Sally Field Didn't Like The Films

Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben and Sally Field as Aunt May in The Amazing Spider-Man

It's not uncommon for actors to dislike roles. It happens all the time.

In an interview with Howard Stern, Sally Field, who portrayed Aunt May in the series, revealed she didn't like The Amazing Spider-Man.

"It's not my kind of movie. But my friend Laura Ziskin was the producer, and we knew it would be her last film, and she was my first producing partner, and she was a spectacular human," Field said.

When asked how much effort she put into the role, Field replied, "Not a great deal. It's really hard to find a three-dimensional character in it, and you work it as much as you can, but you can't put 10 pounds of [expletive] in a five-pound bag."

J. Jonah Jameson Was In An Early Draft

J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson from Spider-Man

Unquestionably, one of the best parts of Raimi's Spider-Man films was the presence of J.K. Simmons as the loudmouth editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson.

When the Spidey movie universe was rebooted, many fans hoped that Simmons would be retained or that Jameson would feature in some way, but alas he didn't.

An early draft of the script for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 showed that Jameson was set to appear in the movie.

Reportedly, Peter was meant to bring his first Spider-Man pictures to Jameson, who'd take Pete on a tour of the Daily Bugle and bemoan how the internet destroyed the newspaper business.

Sadly, for some reason, Jameson's appearance was removed in future drafts.

Michael Papajohn's Cameo

Michael Papajohn might not be a household name – even though he's starred in countless productions. However, his significance to Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy was huge, as he portrayed the burglar who shot Uncle Ben and in turn inspired Spidey to become a hero.

Papajohn's time in the Web-Crawler's movie universe didn't come to an end with the conclusion of Raimi's movies, though, as he made a brief cameo appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man.

Eagle-eyed fans would've spotted that he popped up as Dr. Rajit Ratha's driver Alfie.

It wasn't as big or impactful of a role as his previous one, but it was a classy touch from Webb to include Papajohn in the new movie series.

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Are there any other crazy behind-the-scenes stories about The Amazing Spider-Man movies that we might've missed? Let us know in the comments!