Kirsten Dunst Didn't Want Jake Gyllenhaal To Replace Tobey Maguire in 'Spider-Man 2'

Fans of the first-ever "Spider-Man" actor Tobey Maguire may be surprised to know that he almost got replaced by another star. 

At the time, medical professionals had advised Maguire to stay away from injuring his back, or he could be paralyzed.

This situation led the show's executives to consider Kirsten Dunst's then-boyfriend and fellow actor Jake Gyllenhaal, but she did not stand for his casting.

When Tobey Maguire was the only friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, he suffered numerous injuries while doing stunts which led to a severe back injury.

According to Seattle PI, Director Sam Raimi became concerned for the lead actor and considered finding a suitable replacement to prevent him from serious health complications. 

Raimi said that someone, a manager or the likes, told him that Maguire's back was in such a condition that further injury could lead to his paralysis. He continued:

"At that moment, I said to myself, ‘I can’t be irresponsible. I can’t make a movie about responsibility and then grab this kid and make him do stunts where he’s going to be paralyzed. And I can’t compromise the movie.'"

Gyllenhaal also spoke about the situation in an interview with Yahoo, saying that he believes when an actor plays a character, then it belongs to them only.

The "Prince of Persia" actor then confirmed that he was one of the choice replacements for the "Spider-Man" sequel. He said:

"He [Maguire] hurt himself, and there was talk. There was a slew of actors [likey for the role ], and I was one of them."

Yet, the production's leading lady had different views about Gyllenhaal's proposed casting in the upcoming movie. In a Black Film interview, she said:

“It would have been weird. I mean, I would like to work with him, and I would. I’m happy it wasn’t this because I would rather do a more intimate movie with him where I could actually have, like, many scenes with him…"

Dunst believed that starring in a movie with Gyllenhaal would negatively impact their ability to collaborate in further productions. She continued:

"if we had done this, we could never have done another movie together probably, and I would rather do something else with him than this movie.”

The "Jumanji" actress was not alone in her stance against having her then-boyfriend in the movie, noting that some other people behind the film did not like the idea of casting him. 

Dunst said, "certain people are against it, and everybody has a different point of view on it, and I think we probably could do a small movie together.”

The leading lady may have held her stance to protect her relationship with Gyllenhaal, seeing as she dated Maguire during the first "Spider-Man" installment, but they broke up shortly after.

Dunst may have had her reservations towards the idea of starring in a major film with Gyllenhaal but found the experience a walk in the park with her fiancé Jesse Plemons.

Last November, The Blast disclosed that the lovebirds, who first collaborated on the FX series "Fargo," partnered effortlessly for a second time.

The fiancé and fiancée played on-screen spouses in the critically acclaimed Western movie titled "The Power of The Dog," which premiered on November 11 with a star-studded cast including Benedict Cumberbatch. 

In “The Power of the Dog,” Plemons and Dunst star as Rose Gordon and George Burbank, newlyweds under the suspicious eye of Burbank’s brother, Phil (Cumberbatch.)

In an interview with ET, the couple got candid about how they had no hiccups starring side-by-side, calling the process "really easy." 

Plemons also revealed that he and Dunst creatively clicked from their first meeting, and they quickly built trust over time.

The "Jungle Cruise" actor noted that he and his wife-to-be easily shared their thoughts without any ego and, if either of them happened to dislike an idea, it was not a problem.

Dunst praised Plemons for being creatively in sync with her. She admitted that this influenced their romantic relationship as they became an item about a year after working together.