Tom Holland Says He Can Now Say No to Marvel and Sony, but Still Wants to Play Spider-Man If the Story Feels Right

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man future is now in his own hands. The actor has said that, for the first time since he was cast as Peter Parker, he is in a position where he can say no to Marvel and Sony. But he has also made it clear that he still loves the role and would keep playing it, as long as the story feels right.

Tom Holland: “I Can Say No”

Holland made the comments on The Rich Roll Podcast in 2024, while a new Spider-Man film was still being developed. For years, he had been tied to Marvel and Sony through his original multi-picture deal, which ended with Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021. Without that contract, the decision to return became his to make.

“I’m now at a juncture where I can say no,” Holland said. “And now that I’ve been afforded that power, I am struggling to figure out what is the right thing to do.” He added: “I don’t want to make another movie for the sake of making it.”

Why the Story Mattered to Tom Holland

Holland said he had read a pitch and a draft of the script, which he called “excellent,” though he admitted it still needed work. He said it “really lit a fire” in him. For Holland, the key was making sure the next film was worthy of No Way Home, which ended with Peter Parker erased from everyone’s memory and starting over alone.

Tom Holland Said Yes to Spider-Man: Brand New Day

In the end, the story won him over. Holland returned for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, his fourth solo outing as the web-slinger. He has since told GQ that he even used his new leverage to get Sony to push the film back so he could shoot Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, calling it “a very uncomfortable conversation” with the studio.

Holland has also admitted that his old comments about not playing Spider-Man past 30 may have been partly a negotiating tactic, joking that he might need to change the number to 37. He has said he would love to eventually pass the baton to a new Spider-Man, just like Robert Downey Jr. mentored him. Until then, Tom Holland is playing Spider-Man on his own terms.