Tom Holland Teases the Long-Term Spider-Man Plan to "Pass the Baton"
Tom Holland isn't thinking about hanging up the Spider-Man suit anytime soon, but he is thinking about how the story for his version of Peter Parker should end.
With Spider-Man: Brand New Day set to push Peter Parker into his next chapter, fans are already looking beyond the upcoming film and wondering where the web-slinger goes from here.
Holland has repeatedly said he'll keep playing Spider-Man for as long as Marvel Studios and Sony want him around, and if Brand New Day lives up to its box office expectations, that future could stretch on for years.
Even so, Holland has revealed that he and the creative team already know where the road eventually leads, and it sounds like that destination has everything to do with Miles Morales.
During an appearance on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast, Holland explained that there has been a long-term vision in place ever since Spider-Man: No Way Home wrapped production.
"There’s a whole plan that we have been working on… since we finished Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s laid out. It’s gonna change for sure, but I have a really clear vision to the passing on of the baton, and I think it’s really exciting."
In fact, according to Holland, "that is the thing that I want to do most for this character, for sure."
That comment makes it pretty easy to connect the dots. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has already talked about Miles Morales being the "destiny" of the MCU's Spider-Man franchise, and the groundwork has actually been sitting there for years.
Fans will remember Spider-Man: Homecoming introducing Donald Glover as Aaron Davis, better known to comic fans as the Prowler and, more importantly, Miles Morales' uncle.
I like that Holland is thinking about how to leave the character in the best possible place when the time eventually comes to step away. Rather than dragging the role out forever, he seems interested in giving Peter Parker a meaningful ending while opening the door for the next generation.
There have also been persistent rumors that Holland has signed on for another Spider-Man trilogy. Nothing has been officially confirmed, but if that's the direction Marvel and Sony are taking, it would make a lot of sense for those films to build toward Miles Morales taking over as the MCU's primary Spider-Man.
Of course, Marvel could borrow from the comics and have Peter Parker and Miles Morales operate as Spider-Man at the same time. But based on Holland's comments, that doesn't sound like the story he has in mind. His vision sounds much more like a genuine handoff where Peter chooses the right moment to move on.
That approach could work much better than what happened in Marvel Comics. Following the events of the 2015 Secret Wars crossover, Miles and Peter ended up sharing the same universe instead of Miles growing into the role on his own.
While both characters have remained popular, Miles has often found himself living in Peter Parker's shadow rather than fully carving out his own place as Spider-Man.
The MCU has an opportunity to avoid that problem. If Holland wants his version of Peter Parker's legacy to be Miles Morales, then giving Miles the room to become his own Spider-Man instead of constantly competing for the spotlight would be a much more satisfying payoff.
Before any of that happens, though, Peter Parker still has plenty left to accomplish. The MCU is heading toward its Mutant Saga, and Spider-Man has always had strong ties to the X-Men throughout Marvel history. Fans of the classic X-Men: The Animated Series will even remember the wall-crawler crossing paths with Marvel's mutants decades ago.
So while Holland is already thinking about passing the baton someday, don't expect Peter Parker to disappear anytime soon. It sounds like the finish line has been mapped out, but there are still plenty of adventures waiting before Spider-Man is finally ready to hand the mask to Miles Morales.