Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman has walked back on recent comments made by producer Amy Pascal about Tom Holland’s future as Spider-Man. Rothman said to multiple outlets that ‘nothing has been determined’ yet about Holland’s return as the popular Marvel superhero.
The actor has been playing the character–in a unique barter deal between Sony and Marvel–since 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. He has also appeared in two Avengers films and now three solo Spider-Man movies. A couple of weeks ago, Pascal let slip that Holland will reprise his role in a new trilogy of movies, continuing Marvel and Sony’s partnership.
Ahead of the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Rothman told Variety that Pascal might have jumped the gun. “I will confirm that my dear sister-in-arms, Amy, is a very optimistic person. That’s what I will confirm. The reality is nothing is set. Nothing has been determined. But on the other hand, everything is still possible,” he said.
Pascal in her original statement to Fandango had said a couple of weeks ago, “This is not the last movie that we are going to make with Marvel — [this is not] the last Spider-Man movie. We are getting ready to make the next Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland and Marvel. We’re thinking of this as three films, and now we’re going to go onto the next three. This is not the last of our MCU movies.”
This would mean that Sony is contractually obligated to lease one of its character–which could be someone other than Spider-Man–to Marvel in a future film. Sony is developing its own universe of Marvel characters, which includes two Venom movies and the upcoming Morbius. Both the second Venom film and Morbius have ties to Holland’s Spider-Man.
