He reinvented Spider-Man back in 2016, and has made himself a household name after appearing in six MCU films since then, but apparently Tom Holland is not so sure about throwing on his Spidey suit once more.
The Crowded Room star recently spoke about feeling “protective” over his breakout and most identifiable role, telling reporters that regarding a sequel: “I won’t make another one for the sake of making another one. It will have to be worth the while of the character.”
He continued “we have been actively engaging in conversations about what it could potentially look like for a fourth rendition of my character... Whether or not we can find a way to do justice to the character is another thing”, when asked about Spider-Man 4 at a press conference with the Critics Choice Association.
Indeed, Tom is right to be protective of his Spider-Man legacy and skeptical about reprising the role.
The success of his films is astronomical, with Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) both earning over $1 billion at the box office, and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) grossing close to $2 billion.
Comparatively, recent entries into the MCU have been less favourable – this year’s The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania were both Box Office flops. So, it would make perfect sense that Marvel bosses are keen to re-focus one of their most successful characters!
Both Tom and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige have spoken about a Spider-Man 4 movie being in the “very, very early stages”, with development paused this year during the actor and writer strikes.
Of course, fans will know that the most recent Spider-Man film brought together fellow Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield on the big screen for the first time.
The movie also ended on a bit of question mark, with Peter Parker wandering the streets of New York having had to erase himself from the memory of everyone he loves.
Though it seems almost a dead cert at this point – especially given franchise producer Amy Pascal’s comments to Variety that there will indeed be a sequel to No Way Home – Tom’s admission does suggest that at least his involvement in Spider-Man 4 may be up for debate.
Here’s hoping Marvel can craft a story so compelling that we get to see Tom in action once again.