Warning: contains major Spider-Man: No Way Home spoilers
At the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, we leave Peter Parker in a very different place from where we found him. He’s lost Aunt May, his girlfriend MJ and best mate Ned have forgotten they ever knew him, and he’s much closer to the more tragic incarnation of Spidey that we know from the comics (and the previous movies). With great power, they say, comes great responsibility. And it seems Tom Holland has plenty of power at the moment – because he’s now officially out of contract for the character, and nothing has been confirmed of what comes next. While producer Amy Pascal has claimed they’re planning another trio of Spidey films with Holland set to star, the actor seems less sure about his future in the blue and red spandex.
Speaking in a major new interview alongside Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire, Holland was asked straight-up if he’ll be back as Spider-Man – and going by his answer, that’s very much in question. “The truth is, and you’re not gonna like the truth, I don’t know the answer to that question,” he admits, going on to say that the high-point of No Way Home could be one hell of a way to go out. “This film for me was as special as an experience could ever be, sharing the screen with these guys. Playing Spider-Man can be quite an alienating experience, because we’re the only three blokes who have done it. So to share that with you two, and for it have been such a wonderful experience, of which I have such amazing memories… 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.”
But don’t worry – there’s still a chance we’ll see the return of this Peter Parker. “I know I love this character, and I know that I am not ready to say goodbye,” says Holland. “But if it is time for me to say goodbye, then I will do so proudly knowing that I’ve achieved everything I wanted to with this character. And sharing it with these boys will be forever one of the most special experiences of my career. So if it’s time, if it’s not it’s not. But at the moment, I don’t know.”
Stay tuned for more info on what Holland’s superhero future will have in store – for now, it sounds like he may be in the much less fantastical movie, Spider-Man: Contract Negotiations. Here’s hoping he has a really good lawyer.