It is quite easy to take Spider-Man being in the MCU for granted, given just how seamlessly the character fits into the larger franchise, and how good Tom Holland is in the web-slinging titular role, but it wasn’t always like that. Less than a decade ago it was unthinkable that Sony and Marvel would set aside billion-dollar deals just to appease comicbook fans (and make even more billions), and yet Holland managed to swing audiences’ hearts away when he first appeared in “Captain America: Civil War.” In a new interview, however, the Russo Brothers recall how hesitant Sony was to casting the new Peter Parker.
READ MORE: Tom Holland Says ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Completes His Marvel Studios Contract
In an interview with GQ Magazine to promote their movie “Cherry” for Apple TV+, Anthony and Joe Russo discussed the arduous process to cast Holland. “We talked with Feige at Marvel about Holland and he got excited and then we went to Sony…” Joe Russo said. “And they were like, ‘Let’s think about it for a minute.’ We could tell we were meeting resistance from Sony. So 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. It came down to a fight, yet Sony just kept dragging their feet.”
According to Anthony Russo, the thing that made Sony nervous was Holland’s age. “It was the first time Spider-Man had ever been cast as an actual teenager, right? Which was very important to us; there was a distinct nervousness of casting a kid,” the director explained.
READ MORE: Sony’s ‘Spider-Man 3’ Title Revealed As ‘No Way Home’
Honestly, the entire article is delightful and you should read it all, if only for Holland recalling the time he thought he was introducing himself to Robert Downey Jr. but was actually talking to his stunt double. But that was then, what about now? Much has been said about the next Spider-Man movie possibly being Tom Holland’s last, and he knows this.
“We haven’t got long filming now and it’s quite sad, because this is the end of my contract after this film is up,” Hollan tells GQ. “I really don’t know what the future holds, so I am just savouring every moment, as it could potentially be the last.” Of course, it’s not like he’d refuse a renewal. When asked if he’d say yes to more, Holland simply answered: “Absolutely. One hundred per cent, yes.”