Tom Holland has been playing Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, since 2015, when he filmed for Captain America: Civil War. With the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day this week, Holland has officially passed a decade since his debut on-screen as the iconic wall-crawler. He has grown up with the character, with Brand New Day, according to early reactions, featuring the most mature and oldest version yet.
Recently, Holland spoke about playing Telemachus in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, saying it was likely his final time playing a boy. What does that mean for the future of Spider-Man, who has almost always been restricted to high school-age and at most in college?
Well, according to Holland, there is a plan laid out, and it eventually involves the passing of the torch.
Marvel Has a Plan for Tom Holland and the Future of Spider-Man
Marvel may not be the best at planning things out now. No matter what Kevin Feige says, they did a much better job building up Thanos in Phases 1-3 than they have building up Doctor Doom ahead of Avengers: Doomsday. The planning bit has gone off the rails, most notably because they couldn’t use Kang the Conqueror after Jonathan Majors got into trouble.
Despite all that, the lack of planning doesn’t really apply to Spider-Man. Tom Holland’s version of the webhead has a plan that’s been set up since before No Way Home, and while it’s sure to take some different routes along the way, there is an exit strategy for the actor to hand it off to someone else after his movies, however many there are, conclude.
“There’s a whole plan that we have been working on for, I would say, since we finished ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’” Holland said via Variety. “It’s laid out. It’s gonna change for sure, but I have a really clear vision to the passing on of the baton, and I think it’s really exciting.”
Tom Holland is known for spoiling things, but he was relatively tight-lipped about this. He has said numerous times, including on the Brand New Day press tour, that he would love to see Miles Morales join the MCU. He’s also expressed a desire to “shepherd the lucky young kid who gets that job.”
“For whoever’s next, whether that is a Miles Morales or a Spider-Gwen or a Spider-Woman or something like that, I would love to be a part of setting up the next chapter,” Holland said earlier this year. “Whatever that looks like, I don’t know. But if I could do what [Robert Downey Jr.] did for me, then I would be so content swinging off into the sunset.”
Holland likely does know what Marvel’s loose plan is for replacing Parker in the MCU. It’s not as if they can just recast the character because that might not sit right with fans. At some point, though, Tom Holland and, as a result, Parker will be finished in the MCU. Whether the next Spider-Man will be Gwen, Miles, or someone else is known only to select people, but it is something they’ve already thought about and set a plan for.
With rave reviews for Spider-Man: Brand New Day pouring in as it launches worldwide this weekend, the death of the MCU may have just been staved off. Or, more likely, Spider-Man has proven he is impervious to superhero and Marvel fatigue, with early reactions adoring the movie and early projections showcasing a sky-high box office yield. Either way, it’s clear that they can keep this up for a while, even if Holland eventually steps aside for someone else to take up the mantle. After all, anyone can wear the mask.
