Even if he’s out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Holland’s time as Spider-Man isn’t done.
He’s still under contract for one more go as Spidey of course, as he himself said back in 2016. But speaking to Entertainment Weekly at D23 Expo, Holland seemed downright jubilant about his future as Marvel’s — but not necessarily the MCU’s — friendly neighborhood wall-crawler.
“[A]ll I know is that I’m going to continue playing Spider-Man and having the time of my life,” Holland said. “It’s going to be so fun, however we choose to do it. The future for Spider-Man will be different, but it will be equally as awesome and amazing, and we’ll find new ways to make it even cooler.”
Yes, Holland has said he’s on the hook for three solo Spidey movies, but without really knowing how his contract is worded or what the outcome of the Marvel/Sony dealings will be there was no reason to assume he was a lock to continue on.
Marvel Studios president also spoke to EW, though he didn’t say anything concrete about how negotiations with Sony might turn out. He did strike a mournful note in speaking about the MCU’s run with Spider-Man, however, calling it “a dream that I never thought would happen.”
Feige continued: “It was never meant to last forever. We knew there was a finite amount of time that we’d be able to do this, and we told the story we wanted to tell, and I’ll always be thankful for that.”
He’s certainly not leaving any obvious doors open for Spider-Man’s return to the MCU, but he’s also not slamming them shut. Those words make him sound a lot like a guy who’s saying goodbye, though.
Regardless, the Marvel/Sony discussions presumably lumber on, and will continue to do so until we hear otherwise. There’s every reason to assume right now that Holland will be back as an MCU-free Spider-Man — hopefully with his friends M.J. and Ned and Flash in tow, and maybe some Eddie Brock for good measure — but you never know.