Since Tom Holland first stepped into a Spidey suit in Captain America: Civil War he’s embodied Peter Parker for audiences around the world. If Spider-Man: No Way Home managing to gross over a billion dollars during a pandemic isn’t definitive proof, then the universal despair during the brief period the Sony/Marvel deal fell apart in 2019 would be.
Now Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige has opened up about Holland’s first audition. In a new interview released by Sony, he explains:
“I think we flew about five actors in and had them do readings with Robert Downey Jr and it was his graciousness, he’s always so gracious, particularly with other actors, with his time. We narrowed it down there with that reading and then we did one more with Chris Evans and became very apparent that Tom Holland was not just an amazing Peter Parker but he incredibly was an amazing, no pun intended, Spider-Man.
Because he had both the abilities of a great actor and the abilities of a great gymnast and stunt performer, which was just an added bonus which continues to blow us away and surprise us. I remember he did a giant flip right in front of Evans, he threw Evans off, he couldn’t believe what he just saw in front of him.”
Holland’s gymnastic skills stem from his past as a dancer, having performed as part of a street dance company and further developed his flexibility starring in the ballet-themed Billy Elliott – The Musical.
Feige went on to say that Holland nailed it, giving them exactly what they wanted from an MCU Spider-Man:
“That dynamic between a very young Tom Holland interacting with Robert Downey Jr for the first time was exactly the dynamic we wanted between a young Peter Parker interacting with Tony Stark for the first time. And seeing our Peter grow and grow out of that, the shadow of Iron Man as we saw him start to do in Far From Home, and which he completely does now in No Way Home, and really become his own hero.”
Holland’s future in the MCU is currently unknown. After No Way Home, he’s indicated he wants to take a break from acting and think about starting a family, meaning that it could be a while before he swings back onto the big screen.
No Way Home leaves the character with a blank page for new writers to work with, and given that fans are already petitioning Sony and Marvel for another trilogy, I suspect he’ll be back sooner or later. Here’s hoping he can truly round off his character arc by mentoring a new generation of MCU heroes – it’d be a shame for him to miss the inevitable MCU debut of Miles Morales.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now in theaters.
