Tom Holland Has No Plans To Stop Playing Spider-Man (Thank Goodness)

Tobey Maguire was 27-years-old when he was cast as Spider-Man. Andrew Garfield? He was 26 (and would turn 27 the next month). Tom Holland just turned thirty in June, and his fourth film as Spider-Man releases this week. And those are just the films he’s been the star of! He also played Spidey in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. The guy has played Spider-Man quite a bit, and that rules, because he’s very good at it.

It helps that Holland is a pretty terrific actor, and just seems to get Spider-Man. There is a level of depth to his performance that balances the character’s nerdy nature with his steadfast heroism so well. He can also nail the melancholy of the character, something I’m excited to see on display when I venture into Midtown Manhattan this Sunday morning to see the new film (gotta find what time I can).

Speaking of the new film, reception seems to be (mostly) pretty positive. I have certainly seen people I trust lament the movie not breaking any new ground, but I’ve also seen folks celebrate how free of multiverse shenanigans the new adventure is. And to that end, I’ve seen zero complaints about Holland’s performance (though that certainly doesn’t mean they don’t exist). Regardless, he seems ready to play this role for a long time.

“I will do it for as long as they’ll have me,” Holland recently told THR. “So if this movie does good, I guess we’ll see!” Unless Holland decides to change his mind, I think he’ll get his wish. Marvel would have zero motivation to ditch the star, save for some insane controversy rearing its ugly head. But Holland seems to have his ducks in a row, so hopefully, that doesn’t happen.

If anything, I could see Holland eventually becoming an elder statesman of sorts in a similar way to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. To be fair, Jackman was able to ride the wave that was the explosion of comic-book films, and whether or not their success will continue is certainly up for debate. Still, like Batman, I think Spider-Man’s popularity extends beyond that of superheroes. He’s his own brand, and will probably have an easier time weathering different trends.

I love Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. If he wants to keep making these movies, I’ll gladly keep watching them.