Spider-Man: Why Sony Wasn't Immediately Sold On Tom Holland

Few moments in the past ten years have proven to be as important for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as when Tom Holland was cast as Spider-Man.

The actor made his big-screen debut as Peter Parker in 2016's "Captain America: Civil War" and has since become one of the biggest figures in the entire superhero genre. Indeed, while the past few years have been rockier than usual for the MCU, there's still just as much excitement surrounding Holland's "Spider-Man" movies as there's ever been. That is, in no small part, thanks to the massive success achieved by "Spider-Man: No Way Home" when it was released in theaters in late 2021.

For all these reasons and more, Marvel fans may be surprised to learn that Holland almost wasn't cast as Spider-Man. As a matter of fact, "Captain America: Civil War" directors Anthony and Joe Russo revealed in a 2021 interview with GQ Magazine that the executives at Sony Pictures, the studio that still owns the film rights to Spider-Man, weren't won over by Holland's initial auditions for the role.

"They were like, 'Let's think about it for a minute.' We could tell we were meeting resistance from Sony," explained Joe Russo. "They were reticent, nervous, about handing off something that could ultimately cost them hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars down the line." His brother, Anthony, added that the studio was particularly nervous about casting a younger actor as Spider-Man. "It was the first time Spider-Man had ever been cast as an actual teenager, right? Which was very important to us," the "Civil War" co-director noted. "There was a distinct nervousness of casting a kid."

Despite Sony Pictures' uncertainty about Tom Holland's take on Spider-Man, Joe Russo says that he and his brother refused to let their belief in the actor diminish. "We brought [Holland] back, brought him back, brought him back, and we were relentless in our pursuit of jamming him down the throat of the studio who owns this IP," the filmmaker told GQ. Ultimately, everyone involved in the casting process seems to agree that it was the screen test Holland did with "Iron Man" actor Robert Downey Jr. that secured him the role of Spider-Man.

Downey, for his part, claims that he immediately knew Holland was the right person to play the iconic superhero. "I could tell he had good kung fu; he could roll with the punches and keep it more than interesting," the longtime Marvel Cinematic Universe star told GQ. Holland, meanwhile, still remembers the words of wisdom that Downey offered him before their screen test. "He took me to one side and said, 'I remember the feeling. I've been through this before and it is incredibly stressful. Enjoy the process and let your body take over,'" the actor recalled. "I think that's the piece of advice that got me the Spider-Man job."

Nearly a decade later, it seems safe to say that Holland was, indeed, the right choice to play Spider-Man. After all, not only have his supporting appearances in MCU films like "Captain America: Civil War" and "Avengers: Infinity War" been received well, but his solo "Spider-Man" movies have all been hugely successful as well. That said, in the wake of the success of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," there's a surprising amount of mystery surrounding Holland's future as Marvel's most famous web-slinger (and Sony's most prized fictional character).

Very little is known right now about how long Tom Holland intends to continue playing Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, as well as how many more movies Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios want to make with him as the character. In a 2021 interview with GQ, Holland did, notably, contemplate his future. "Maybe it is time for me to move on," the actor remarked. "If I'm playing Spider-Man after I'm 30, I've done something wrong."

A fourth "Spider-Man" film starring Holland's Peter Parker is currently in development. However, no official details have been revealed about the film, including its plot. To make matters worse, all progress on it reportedly stopped when the 2023 WGA strike began in May. "We have been having meetings. We've put the meetings on pause in solidarity with the writers," Holland said when asked by Variety about the superhero film in June. "There's been multiple conversations had, but at this point, it's very, very early stages."

Now that the WGA's strike has come to an end, there's no telling when fans can expect to learn more about Sony and Marvel's follow-up to "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Given Holland's comment about playing Peter Parker after he's turned 30, it's also unclear how many more "Spider-Man" movies fans should expect to see the 27-year-old actor in.

Whether he ends up starring in one or four more movies as Peter Parker, though, "Avengers: Endgame" co-director Joe Russo doesn't seem concerned about Tom Holland's future in Hollywood. "It is a very disruptive time we are in," the filmmaker told GQ. "But there's a universe where Tom Holland is the last great movie star coming in underneath the wire of disruption."