Spider-Man is one of the most beloved superheroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And though he’s been played by numerous actors over the years, his latest iteration as a part of the superhero team, The Avengers, is among his most popular yet – thanks in no small part to his excellent portrayal by Tom Holland.
But fans of the latest star have been hit by some pretty brutal news. It appears that, thanks to disagreements between Sony and Marvel/Disney, Holland’s run as Spider-Man may be coming to a premature end – and fans are feeling pretty heartbroken.
He first appeared in the Marvel Comic books in 1962, in what’s known as the Silver Age.
Which means that Spider-Man has enjoyed many different iterations over the years. He was first brought to life by Danny Seagren in the ’70s, and was then played by Tobey Maguire in the early 2000’s trilogy.
Garfield played the iconic character between 2012 and 2014 and Emma Stone played Gwen Stacy.
The deal involved a crossover for the iconic character, which first started with Captain America: Civil War in 2016.
He was played by relatively unknown (and incredibly young) British actor, Tom Holland. But, soon enough, the newest Spider-Man became a fan favorite.
Holland starred in five Marvel movies as Spider-Man.
But, this week, fans received some unwelcome news.
Reports came out that Sony and Disney/Marvel were having a lot of trouble coming up with terms that would allow the character to remain in the MCU.
Well, it’ll mean that Spider-Man has to leave the Avengers forever – meaning Tom Holland will be totally out of a job.
And fans are not happy.
The lack of ability to come to a deal seems, to some, like a flimsy excuse for what may actually be going on behind the scenes.
There are theories that Sony did not like where Tom Holland was taking the role and had to stop him by any means necessary.
It all seems a little bit sketchy. Would two massive movie businesses throw away a super-successful franchise without appearing to really try to work things out first?
As this story comes to light, many have noticed that Tom Holland (usually known for keeping a cool head in moments of conflict) has unfollowed all Sony-related accounts on social media.
Yikes.
There’s a pernicious rumor that Spider-Man’s crossover was a commercial failure – but this is just, categorically, untrue.
In fact, it’s basically the opposite that is true.
In many ways, Tom Holland rescued the character of Spider-Man and brought him back to cultural relevance.
Many are just plain-old upset by the news.
Not only is Spider-Man an integral part of the MCU, but Tom Holland has played him perfectly.
He’s known for being one of the nicest guys in Hollywood – and the fact that he’s been played like this is just heartbreaking.
In recent movies, Iron Man became something of a father to Spider-Man – and the fact that he won’t be in the next Avengers movies is bad enough for fans to deal with.
And the responses of the internet to this sad news just proves how much support Holland has out there.
If this move to block Tom Holland’s MCU future goes through, it could massively impact the future of the MCU as a whole. Support for Tom Holland could well lead to a boycott, for instance.
The fact that the character of Spider-Man has already undergone so many iterations suggests that this story could be even bigger than we initially thought.
Feeling sad? For some wholesome Tom Holland content, just keep scrolling.
