Tom Holland says the handoff of Spider-Man is no longer a hypothetical, and that the plan for it has been in the works since 2021. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast a day before Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens in the United States, Holland said the plan is “laid out” and dates back to the end of production on Spider-Man: No Way Home.
He added that he has a clear vision for the passing on of the baton, while acknowledging the specifics will change. He did not say who takes over, or when.
Why This Is Different From Last Time
Holland has talked before about wanting to do for a successor what Robert Downey Jr. did for him, most recently in Empire earlier this year. That was a wish. This is a schedule. Describing a plan that has existed since No Way Home wrapped means Marvel Studios and Sony have been working toward a succession for roughly five years, through three subsequent films.
Sony’s Spin-Off Universe Was Headed For The MCU
In the same conversation, Holland confirmed something fans have long suspected about Sony’s now-shuttered universe of Spider-Man spin-offs. He said merging that world, the one built around Venom, Morbius and Madame Web, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe was genuinely on the cards, and that the studios simply never found the right moment. He also said he was never pushed into a film he did not want to make.
Kept In The Dark On Secret Wars, On Purpose
Asked about Avengers: Secret Wars, Holland said he has no idea what it is about, and that the ignorance is deliberate on Marvel’s part because they know he is about to spend weeks on a press tour. After years of the actor cheerfully spoiling projects in interviews, it is a reasonable precaution. Peter Parker is expected to rejoin the larger story after sitting out Avengers: Doomsday, which arrives December 18 and has been steadily revealing its cast.
Two other details came out of the same interview. Holland said he doubts the black symbiote suit could be done convincingly without a significant computer-generated component, pointing to how well the Insomniac games handled it. And he revealed that the production explored nightmare sequences of Peter waking up transformed into the Man-Spider, before deciding the film needed to stay watchable for children.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, opens in theaters Friday, July 31. The film is set four years after No Way Home and ahead of the events of Doomsday.
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