Spider-Man: Homeless? - What's Next For Tom Holland's Peter Parker?
3. Who Might Return?
Much has been made of the fact that Tom Holland is required to do another solo Spider-Man movie. This is based on a November 2016 interview with The Hollywood Reporter where he specified three MCU crossover movies and three solo Spider-Man movies - meaning that he has one solo movie left.
However, that only leads to further speculation about how his obligations actually work. Did he sign one contract with Disney (for his appearances in Captain America: Civil War and the Avengers movies) and one with Sony for the solo movies? Or a single Sony/Disney contract for three solo films and options for three supporting roles in other MCU movies? If the latter, does that mean there’s wiggle room?
It may be a moot point: his appearance at the D23 Expo last weekend indicates that he’s committed to continuing to play Spider-Man regardless. Feige too seems to have washed his hands of the deal.
These aren’t the statements of two people hoping that mommy and daddy stop fighting. Of course, Holland may feel differently after filming a Sony-only Spider-Man movie.
After all, what tends to be forgotten is that both Raimi and Webb’s Spider-franchises were crippled by Sony executives at exactly this point: the development stage of the third movie. Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 was notoriously plagued by studio interference in development, which delayed production by a year: the movie suffered badly for it, arriving bloated and confused to the screen. Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man 3 didn’t even make it out of the blocks.
Added to that, most of Holland’s relationships won’t be with the current crop of Sony players (most of whom weren’t there when he was cast): they’ll be with the cast and crew of his two Spider-Man movies and with Feige and the cast and crew of the Avengers movies.
Meanwhile, Holland’s co-star and onscreen love interest Zendaya is staunchly behind Jon Watts. She’s indicated that she’ll play MJ in as many Spider-Man movies as the director wants, citing him as being the main creative force behind the characters and relationships created by the first two films… but there’s no word on how many movies she’s contracted for.
However, it’s recently been revealed that Watts himself isn’t tied into a contract for a third Spider-Man movie. So if Holland’s a lock regardless, perhaps the most important question should be: will Watts return?
His business dealings will have been with Sony rather than Disney - but he’ll have a working relationship with Marvel Studios, especially Feige, who arguably can offer him more incentive to work with Disney than Sony can provide.
A big part of whether he returns will also be creative. Before shooting Homecoming, Watts showed Zendaya character arcs planned out for Peter and MJ that extended into Far From Home, including background information like the specific books that MJ loved and why she loved them and the specific t-shirt she’d wear in a scene.
Watts deliberately left characters he has a huge personal investment in teetering on a monumental cliffhanger… but will he be able to tell the story he wants to tell outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe - and especially with Sony?
NEXT: WHAT DOES SPIDER-MAN 3 LOOK LIKE WITHOUT THE MCU?