Spider-Man is one of the best and most loved superheroes to emerge out of Stan Lee’s imagination. Spider-Man has been a fan favorite from his first debut in 1962 to his debut on the big screen in 2002 with Tobey Maguire playing the hero.
Since then, a number of movies with different actors portraying the hero made their way to the big screen. But how do we navigate thru the hero’s journey? In this article, let’s find out the chronological order to watch all the Spiderman movies to date. So, sit back, relax, and find out all you need to know about our web-slinging, red and blue hero!
1. Spider-Man(2002)
The first-ever appearance of Spider-Man on the big screen was witnessed with Tobey Maguire as the hero and Willem Dafoe as the villain. This movie explores the origin of the superhero and his struggles to balance a life of being a superhero and a student, who has to look after his Aunt May.
This first Spiderman movie explores the true essence of the character and his dilemma. We witness Green Goblin as the movie’s main villain and also see the mental and physical conflicts the villain puts Spiderman through. Overall, if you wish to understand the depth of Spider-Man’s character and his struggles as a normal everyday guy, watching this movie will help you relate with the character in his truest form.
- Release Date: May 3, 2002
- Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kristen Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco
- Director: Sam Raimi
- Runtime: 2 Hours 1 Minute
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 7.4/ 90 %
2. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Once again, after 2 years, in 2004, our superhero dressed in red and blue was back on the big screen with the title Spider-Man 2. In this movie, we see Tobey Maguire reprising his role as Spiderman once again and Alfred Molina as the main villain of the movie.
This movie revolves more around the human side of Spiderman, he has been facing troubles at school, he is not able to keep a job for long, Mary Jane gets engaged to another person, and on top of all this, Daily Bugle is labeling Spiderman as a criminal.
All these events push Peter Parker to give up the mantle of Spiderman, but soon after this, Doctor Otto Octavius, due to a failed experiment, turns into an evil, tentacled villain. Will Peter Parker take up the mantle of Spiderman again to stop Doctor Octavius? Find out in the movie!
- Release Date: June 3o, 2004
- Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kristen Dunst, Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe
- Director: Sam Raimi
- Runtime: 2 Hours 2 Minutes
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 7.5/ 93%
3. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Again after a wait of 2 years, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is back on the big screen in the last segment of Toby Maguire’s Spiderman series. In the third Spiderman movie, Tobey Maguire played Spiderman for the final time and faced his greatest enemy- himself.
In the movie we see a number of villains, the first one being, Harry Osbourne, played by James Franco, the son of Norman Osbourne( Green Goblin), take up the mantle of his father and turn into the New Goblin, seeking vengeance for his father’s death while battling Spiderman.
Thomas Haden Church plays the role of Flint Marko, the man who killed Uncle Ben and turned into Sandman, one of Spiderman’s greatest enemies. The final and the most dangerous enemy is Venom, an alien who takes Peter as a host initially and greatly enhances Spiderman’s abilities, but this enhancement costs Peter Parker his morality and starts bringing out his darker side. Will Peter hold on to his dark powerful side or choose to be the friendly neighborhood Spiderman? Watch the movie to find out!
- Release Date: May 4, 2007
- Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kristen Dunst, Topher Grace, Thomas Haden Church, James Franco
- Director: Sam Raimi
- Runtime: 2 Hours 13 Minutes
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 8.2/ 63%
4. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
And once again, our web-slinging superhero is back on the big screen after a long wait of 6 years! The Amazing Spiderman (2012) is a live-action take on the Marvel Comic series of the same name that came out in the year 1963. The role of Spiderman is played by Andrew Garfield and has pretty much the same origin as that of Toby Maguire’s Spiderman, being bitten by a radioactive spider on a school field trip.
The movie stars Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Conners who turns into the villain, The Lizard. The Amazing Spiderman explores the dilemma of Peter Parker and the divide between his normal life and his identity of Spiderman. The romantic life of Peter Parker with Gwen Stacy, played by Emma Stone is also explored.
The Amazing Spiderman is a must-watch Spiderman movie for fans as it packs true-to-the-character storytelling, perfect character dynamics as well as stunning visuals.
- Release Date: July 3, 2012
- Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Rhys Ifans
- Director: Marc Webb
- Runtime: 2 Hours 16 Minutes
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 6.6/ 71%
5. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Reprising his role, Andrew Garfield came back as Spiderman in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Released in 2014, this movie shows us how Peter has kind of figured out how to fulfill his normal responsibilities as Peter Parker and his superhuman responsibilities as Spiderman. However, this balance starts to disrupt with the rise of Electro played by Jamie Foxx. The first-ever live-action adaptation of The Rhino is also incorporated as the closing scene.
We also see Harry Osbourne as Green Goblin played by Dane DeHaan who also seriously challenges and scars Spiderman relatively psychologically than physically. This Spiderman movie explores the themes of self-exploration, friendship, and above all, loss.
- Release Date: May 2, 2014
- Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHann, Jamie Foxx
- Director: Marc Webb
- Runtime: 2 Hours 21 Minutes
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 6.6/51%
6. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Even though Captain America: Civil War is not a Spiderman film, it does introduce us to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s take on Spiderman with Tom Holland playing the role. In the movie we see Tom Holland’s Spiderman being recruited by Robert Downey JR.’s Ironman to join his team of superheroes. In the film, we don’t see the origin of Spiderman but a version of Spiderman who had already been a superhero for some time now.
The movie also acts as a canon to Spiderman joining the Avengers under the mentorship of Tony Stark and his journey to become one of the most powerful Avengers.
- Release Date: May 6, 2016
- Cast: Tom Holland, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, Chadwick Boseman
- Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- Runtime: 2 Hours 27 Minutes
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating:7.8 / 90 %
7. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Finally, in 2017, Tom Holland gets to play his first ever standalone movie as MCU’s Spiderman. The events of the movie take place after the events of the Civil War and we see Peter Parker figuring out his life as a high school student as well as a superhero. In the movie, we see Peter Parker trying to prove to Tony Stark that he is fit to join the Avengers by fighting criminals with his friend Ted, played by Jacob Batalon.
We see the origin story of Michael Keaton’s villainous avatar the Vulture as well as the rise of Spiderman from being a friendly neighborhood Spiderman to an Avenger.
- Release Date: July 7, 2017
- Cast: Tom Holland, Jacob Batalon, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Robert Downey Jr.
- Director: Jon Watts
- Runtime: 2 Hours 13 Minutes
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 7.4/ 92%
8. Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse (2018)
Even after not being related to MCU’s Spiderman storyline, Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse is a must-watch movie for every Spiderman fan. The movie revolves around an alternate timeline in which instead of Peter Parker, Miles Morales, played by Shameik Moore, gets bitten by the radioactive spider granting him the powers of Spiderman.
The movie introduces us to Spider-Men from other alternate timelines or from throughout the Spider-verse who embark on an adventure to get back to their home universes and save them from collapsing.
This Movie is a visually stunning piece of work that every Spiderman fan is bound to fall in love with.
- Release Date: December 14, 2017
- Cast: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Nicholas Cage
- Director: Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Bob Persichetti
- Runtime: 1 Hour 56 Minutes
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 8.4/ 97%
9. Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse(2023)
Marvel Studios outdid themselves once again with the sequel of Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. Released in 2023, the story of the movie picks up right where it was left in the first movie. Miles is trying to manage his life as a superhero as well as a student at the same trying, terribly missing Gwen, and one day, she randomly shows up but not just to meet Miles. He encounters a new villain named The Spot, in this movie with a number of new characters who will just steal your heart.
- Release Date: June 2, 2023
- Cast: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Issac, Karan Soni, Jason Schwartzman
- Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
- Runtime: 2 Hours 20 Minutes
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 8.9/95%
10. Avengers Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War is one of the biggest Marvel movies ever made by the MCU, it contains a large cast of superheroes including Tom Holland’s Spiderman. Spiderman plays a vital role in this movie and we see a growing bond between him and Tony Stark, which makes it a must-watch Spiderman movie as it will make it easier for fans to understand.
- Release Date: April 27, 2018
- Cast: Tom Holland, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, Chadwick Boseman, J0sh Brolin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillian
- Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- Runtime: 2 Hours 29 Minutes
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 9.6 / 85%
11. Avengers Endgame(2019)
Even though Spiderman was not in most parts of the movie, he still made his presence felt in the key moments of the movie. This movie is a must-watch for every Spiderman fan to see Spiderman in action and to put the upcoming Spiderman movies into context.
- Release Date: April 27, 2019
- Cast: Tom Holland, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, Chadwick Boseman, J0sh Brolin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillian, Brie Larson, Gwyneth Paltrow
- Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- Runtime: 3 Hours 2 Minutes
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 8.4/ 94%
12. Spider-Man: Far From Home(2019)
Reprising his role as Spiderman, we see Tom Holland as the red and blue superhero. In the movie, we see Tom Holland still recovering from the events of Endgame and him trying to stay away from the world of superheroes but fate has other plans for our beloved Peter Parker. In the movie we see Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Jake Gyllenhaal as the Villain, Mysterio, posing as a superhero from another dimension.
This Movie is a visual thriller and yes, do not miss the post-credit scene on this one.
- Release Date: July 2, 2019
- Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marisa Tomei, Samuel L. Jackson
- Director: Jon Watts
- Runtime: 2 Hours 9 Minutes
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 7.4/ 90%
13. Spider-Man: No Way Home(2021)
Spiderman: No Way Home starts off exactly where the post-credit scene of Spiderman: Far From Home ended. This movie is the biggest Spiderman movie made to date and brings a number of familiar faces back to the screen, like Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin, Rhys Ifans as The Lizard, Jamie Foxx as Electro, Alfred Molina as Doctor Octavius and Thomas Hayden Church as The Sandman.
The movie also brings Doctor Strange in a crucial role and brings back our favorite Spiderman actors to reprise their roles. This movie is a roller coaster ride for any Spiderman fan and will hit you with some serious nostalgia.
- Release Date: December 17, 2021
- Cast: Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, Rhys Ifans, Jacob Batalon, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei
- Director: Jon Watts
- Runtime: 2 Hours 28 Minutes
- IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 8.2/ 93%
Here’s a table of Spider-Man movies in order if you don’t want any spoilers.
Movie Name Release Year Spider-Man 2002 Spider-Man 2 2004 Spider-Man 3 2007 The Amazing Spider-Man 2012 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 2014 Captain America: Civil War 2016 Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017 Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse 2018 Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse 2023 Avengers Infinity War 2018 Avengers Endgame 2019 Spider-Man: Far From Home 2019 Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021
Aparna Ukil
