Tom Holland Speaks Up About Whether He’s Done Playing Spider-Man
Is Tom Holland ready for more Spider-Man or not?
This article is more than 2 years old
Hollywood’s most indecisive man is at it again. While Tom Holland is undeniably one of the largest names in show biz, he’s been quite undecided on his future within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even before the premiere of his sixth appearance in the MCU through Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tom gave hints of retiring the Spidey suit and handing the tights over to the next in line. With the last month bringing Tom even more recognition and praise for his portrayal of Peter Parker, the 25-year-old British actor recently spoke out about his hesitance on the matter.
Speaking yesterday with Deadline, Tom Holland joined the ultimate trio of web slingers Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire for a comprehensive discussion on depicting the beloved Marvel superhero. Doubling down on his uncertainty, Holland discussed still being unsure on whether or not he’ll return to the role of Peter Parker in future Spider-Man projects. Making sure to not downplay his love and the importance the role had on his career, Tom said the third and recent installment of Spider-Man: No Way Home was “as special as an experience could ever be.” Adding on to the sentiment, Holland turned the discussion to his future in the role saying, “I don’t know, there’s part of me that feels like it’s the perfect time to jump off the building and swing off into the sunset and let the next lucky young kid come in to don the suit.”
Tom Holland does little to hide his fanboy stature when it comes to Spider-Man vets Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Maguire — the first actor tasked at portraying Peter Parker on the big screen — would have donned the suit when Tom Holland was barely out of diapers. Similarly, Andrew Garfield had his turn at the wall-crawler ten years later when Holland was a teenager. Never one to hide his geekery for the superhero, Holland grew up admiring the two actors that he was graced to share the screen with in one of the most monumental theatrical releases ever.
As for Tom Holland’s mentioning of handing the kingdom over to the next young actor, the British actor has laid hints at such for a while now. To start, the actor was open and honest about his contract with Marvel ending after Spider-Man: No Way Home. While all signs likely point to the MCU having no quarrels with Holland wanting to once again show off his Spidey-tingling acting skills, he’s been eager to lead the next actor into the role.
The actor’s ambiguous take on the future could stem from something deeper. Tom Holland has not only hinted at retiring from Spider-Man, but from Hollywood altogether. Two months ago, Holland teased at quitting the business. Iterating the fact that he has spent most of his life in the limelight, the young actor expressed a desire to do more with his youthful years.
With Spider-Man: No Way Home crushing numbers at the box office, the ending of the film left things open for Tom Holland. With Peter Parker having his short-lived time as the vigilante nearly whipped clean as he lost everyone close to him either to death or the memory wipe performed by Doctor Strange, Marvel has a lot of options if Tom decides to return to the role or not. As hopeful as fans are to see the bubbly “boy next door” once again bring the Spidey charm to the MCU, it does seem doubtful Holland will reprise the role. Holland made a powerful statement at the end of the Deadline interview that would seem to indicate the ending of an era: “I know I love this character and I know that I am not ready to say goodbye, but if it is time for me to say goodbye, I will do so proudly, knowing that I have achieved everything I wanted to with this character. And sharing it with these boys will forever be forever one of the most special experiences of my career. So if it’s time, it’s time. If it’s not, it’s not. But at the moment I don’t know.”
