Actor Tom Holland began his professional career on the British stage, playing the title character in the 2008 production “Billy Elliot: The Musical.” He moved to film in 2012, appearing in J.A. Bayona’s intense flood drama “The Impossible.” Holland burst into the public consciousness, however, in 2016 with his appearance as Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, in “Captain America: Civil War,” one of the films in the vast and commercially overwhelming Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since then, Holland has played Spider-Man in five additional films, sometimes as part of the Avengers, and sometimes as a solo hero. His most recent Spider-Man performance came in 2021 with the release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” a multiverse movie wherein he interacted with the versions of Spider-Man previously played by Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire.
“No Way Home” was an eye-crossing success, making over $1.9 billion at the box office, a staggering number, even for the MCU. Since that film, Spider-Man has been on the back burner, and Holland has moved to starring in the actioner “Uncharted” and the TV series “The Crowded Room.” This year, Holland moved back to the stage, playing Romeo in a West End production of “Romeo & Juliet.” Holland is 28, so perhaps Romeo was aged up for the play.
Many have wondered if Holland will return to the MCU at some point. At the end of “No Way Home,” Spider-Man employed a wizard to erase the world’s memory of him, allowing the character a clean slate and an opportunity to rise as a hero on his own. More than anything, though, Holland merely wants a great Spider-Man story. He said as much in a recent interview with Deadline, revealing that he is already creatively involved in whatever Spider-Man projects may present themselves.
An attempt to outdo ‘No Way Home’
“No Way Home” was mostly about nostalgia, and the film’s director, Jon Watts, actually incorporated pauses to allow audiences to applaud whenever a recognizable actor appeared on-screen. The nostalgia earned the film is billions, but it was also an interesting story besides; Peter Parker aimed to redeem five rogue interdimensional supervillains and address their specific complaints, rather than send them off to their home dimensions to be executed. It’s, ultimately, an anti-death-penalty movie, a coup in a genre that so often murders its villains in the end.
But now that the nostalgia has worn off, audiences have queried what might be next. Also, is Holland done with Spider-Man, or would he be willing to entertain a return? Holland admits that he is grateful for the fame Spider-Man brought him, forcing him to be loyal to the role in perpetuity. He said:
“The simple answer is that I’ll always want to do Spider-Man films. […] I owe my life and career to Spider-Man. So the simple answer is yes. I’ll always want to do more.”
As for the next Spider-Film, Holland knew that many, many ideas are currently being processed by many, many writers. Nothing has been settled on yet, because, according to Holland, everything needs to be perfect. He continued:
“We have the best in the business working toward whatever the story might be. But until we’ve cracked it, we have a legacy to protect. [‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’] was so special in so many ways that we need to make sure we do the right thing.”
That means it can’t be another origin story (as seen in the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield movies), nor could it be another multiverse story. Not only did “No Way Home” use that tale already, but it’s also the premise of the animated “Spider-Verse” movies. Parallel universes are out, man.
So what’s the condition?
The one condition is merely a good story. Holland would likely be paid handsomely to return — after his last film made $1.9 billion, he had better — so a paycheck isn’t an issue. Instead, it just has to be based on a good idea. Given the surfeit of Spider-Man stories that have been written since the character’s inception in 1963, it may be hard to find just the right tale to translate to the big screen. It’s a long brainstorming process, it seems. Luckily, Holland is overseeing it this time, and is able to contribute. Holland was astonished at being included, saying:
“This is the first time in this process that I’ve been part of the creative so early. It’s just a process where I’m watching and learning. It’s just a really fun stage for me. Like I said, everyone wants it to happen. But we want to make sure we’re not overdoing the same things.”
Throughout his history, Spider-Man has been nicknamed “your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man,” and that’s not an element he has been allowed to express in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This version of Spider-Man has access to high-tech suits, a plethora of superhero friends, and has already gallivanted off to space to fight evil alien warlords. He also longed to be a hero merely to impress Iron Man and become part of a bigger superhero team. Originally, Spider-Man became a hero out of guilt, horrified that he let a mugger run away, only to witness that mugger kill his uncle. Spider-Man’s life is hard. He can’t afford rent and often hates his life.
The high-tech Spider-Man was a child of privilege. Perhaps a new Spider-Man film can bring him vitally back down to Earth.
