Is Spider-Man hanging up his web-shooters? No, but people seem to think he may be. In a recent press conference (attended by Collider, from whom this report comes), Tom Holland, the actor who plays Spider-Man in the MCU, spoke about whether or not he’d return for a fourth Spidey solo film, and this was his response:
“All I can say is that 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. I feel very protective over Spider-Man. I feel very, very lucky that we were able to work on a franchise that got better with each movie, that got more successful with each movie, which I think is really rare, and I want to protect his legacy. So, I won’t make another one for the sake of making another one. It will have to be worth the while of the character.
But that said, if we can figure that out, I would be a fool not to put the suit back on again because I owe everything to Spider-Man. I love the character and the people I get to work with. So, I would love to tell another story, but I’ll only tell it if we can find the right one”
The reaction to this is a lot of worrying over nothing. Tom Holland will play Spider-Man again; he’s saying this to ensure people that the movie will be good – which, considering what’s come from Marvel lately, is not a bad idea. He’s acknowledging that he’s concerned with the quality of his Spider-Man films, and he’ll only come back for a good one that does the character justice. That’s it; it’s a formality, and I don’t doubt for a second that Marvel and Sony will do everything they can to get Holland back. It’s similar to what Chris Evans said recently about playing Captain America:
“No one’s spoken to me about it…And look, I would never say never, but I really — I’m very protective. It’s a very precious role to me, so it would have to be just right.”
That can be spun as confirmation that he wants to come back or that he’ll never pick up the shield again, but really, it’s just a diplomatic bunch of nothing. Holland is a bit different because he’s in active talks to play Spidey again, and no one doubts another Spider-Man movie is a priority after No Way Home’s success. But it’s the same basic concept; he wants the movie to be good, and I’m pretty sure the quality of Marvel’s output over the last few years is a concern for him. But don’t worry (unless you don’t like him); Holland will be back.