Tom Holland Learned He Was Cast as Spider-Man From an Instagram Post, Will Play Spidey in at Least Six Films
Even if you didn't think Captain America: Civil War wasn't all that great, I think it's safe to say that the majority of people who walked out of that movie did so with a newfound excitement about Spider-Man. A lot of us had burned out on the character after seeing five solo movies and two different actors playing him on the big screen over a twelve year period, but Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures' unprecedented deal to bring the web-slinger into the Marvel Cinematic Universe under the supervision of Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal has provided a major jolt of life back into Spider-fans around the world.
It helped that the script was strong, but one of the main reasons people are psyched about seeing the ol' webhead again is because 20-year-old Tom Holland completely knocked it out of the park with his performance. His youthful energy, childlike awe, and impressive physicality has us chomping at the bit to see more, and though Marvel is known for excellent casting, they really outdid themselves with that one.
But to hear Holland tell it, he learned that he got the role doing the same thing a lot of us do right before we go to bed:
When we did the screen tests, there were six of us all in this room waiting to audition. It felt like The Hunger Games. [laughs] It was a real weird atmosphere because there's all these kids who really, really want this role. They were like, "We'll let you know tomorrow." Then you find out a month later what the verdict was. I was in my bed scrolling through Instagram. It had been about a month since my audition. And Marvel just posted a photo saying go to our website and find out who the next Spider-Man is. I went on the Marvel website on my computer and there it was: The new Spider-Man is Tom Holland. I went ballistic, like absolutely nuts.
I remember it being a hard-fought battle between Holland and Asa Butterfield, and it must have been crazy to find out about the results that way. I'm not totally convinced this is actually how it went down. I'd like to think the studio would have called him beforehand to prep him for the onslaught of attention he was about to receive. Maybe Holland tells it this way because it makes for a better story, or maybe he's actually being truthful and Marvel straight up didn't tell him beforehand (which would be weird, but stranger things have happened).
Elsewhere in the same interview with THR, Holland commented about how many movies he's signed on for:
They give you options, and those could be exercised whenever. Like a cameo in Avengers. I'm unclear as to which movies, though. I do know I have three Spider-Man movies and three solo movies contracted. But if you have another movie, Marvel is so good at working around it. They're very respectful of your life, really. They understand that you have to work on other movies, and they try and fix it up so you can work around each other.
Sony better get moving on those solo movies, because Holland isn't getting any younger, and the older he gets, the more they'll have to start inching back toward the types of stories they've already told. The best part about this casting is that he looks like a high school student right now...but that won't last forever.