Though Marvel fans are convinced Tobey Maguire is about to return as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home, or at least some sort of spinoff of sequel, it’s important to remember that this has yet to be officially confirmed. As things stand, Maguire hasn’t appeared in a movie since 2017’s The Boss Baby. And for his last live-action appearance we have to go even further back, to 2014’s Pawn Sacrifice. The Maguire drought is over now, though, as the actor has just signed on to a major new project.
As revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, Maguire has joined the star-studded ensemble cast of Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, which already had Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Diego Calva on the call sheet. Maguire’s not the only one who’s just boarded the production either, as THR shares that Olivia Wilde, Spike Jonze and Phoebe Tonkin have done the same. The sprawling cast also includes Max Minghella, Samara Weaving, Lukas Haas and Katherine Waterston. Clearly, with those faces on screen and Chazelle behind the camera, this could be a major awards season contender.
Babylon is set in the late 1920s, against the movie industry’s transition from silent films to talkies, and will explore the rise and fall of multiple characters. THR notes that it’s been talked about as “The Great Gatsby on steroids.” Which is ironic, given that Maguire previously starred in the 2013 Great Gatsby adaptation. There must be something about these kind of movies that attracts him, as Maguire is also on board Babylon as an exec producer.
Paramount is planning a staggered release for this one, with Babylon opening in limited theaters on December 25th, 2022 before going wide on January 6th, 2023. That could be the next time we see Maguire on our screens, then. Or it may come after his big Marvel comeback in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which hits theaters this December. The jury’s still out on if he’s in it or not, but it’s now a definite fact that Tobey Maguire is working on his Hollywood return.