Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man Lunch Tray Scene Took 156 Takes To Get Right

It took a whopping 156 takes to nail Tobey Maguire's canteen scene in 2002's Spider-Man.

If you thought the scene was a product of slick CGI then think again.

Similarly to Peter Parker taking a while to adjust to his new-found spidery powers, the moment where the teen discovers he can shoot webs, leaving the back of another student's head covered in food, proved equally as testing to have to catch on camera.

Kirsten Dunst, who starred as Mary Jane in the original film, special effects artist and head of the VFX team, John Dykstra have since opened up about just how sticky the scene was to film.

Check out a clip of Tobey Maguire's brutal screen test here:

The action in question takes place soon after Parker is sat at a table in the canteen when he accidentally shoots a web which sticks to a nearby tray adorned in food. Pulling his hand back in shock, Parker then accidentally causes the tray to boomerang towards him, splatting onto the head of a student sat directly behind.

However, having recently just discovered his powers, who better to utilise them on but school crush Mary Jane, as she slips on orange juice and sends her lunch flying.

On the DVD commentary to the iconic classic, Dykstra explained how Maguire 'actually [...] catches all this stuff,' The Independent reports.

Dunst confirmed: 'Not CGI by the way, that's all Tobey, which is pretty impressive. They used sticky glue stuff to stick his hand to the tray.'

Sony Pictures Releasing

Unsurprisingly, the mega 156 takes also took a lot of time to film, amounting to an impressive 16-hour day of filming, despite Sony having not originally been that fussed about including the scene, as per Cinema Blend.

However, it's a good thing the moment was included, as it has gone on to be one of the most famous of the franchise, with fans such as Josh Harmon having taken to recreating the sound effects from the scene.

Harmon shared his incredible recreation via Instagram, leaving users in awe of his use of the drums and a series of household items to replicate the succinct and unique sounds of the scene.

Original Spider-Man Tobey Maguire recently reunited with Andrew Garfield and latest star Tom Holland in an emotional interview for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

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Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.