Gwyneth Paltrow has been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the beginning, debuting as Pepper Potts in Iron Man and reprising the role in six more movies. But as we’ve learned over the past several months, the actress/Goop mogul doesn’t have the best memory when it comes to her time in the MCU, like how she forgot who Tom Holland, the current live-action Spider-Man, was twice.
Recalling Gwyneth Paltrow’s lapses in memory and his time working with her on Avengers: Endgame, Tom Holland couldn’t resist throwing some shade her way, though tinged with the actor’s unique brand of niceness. In Holland’s words:
I mean, I always know what movie I'm in... But I mean, you could be on set and you might not know what planet you're on or who you're fighting or who the superhero on your left is. But what's nice for me is that at the end of the day, I grew up a massive fan of these movies. So for me to get the chance to work on them but also kind of be in the dark as to the story, I can still kind of enjoy the film just as a fan, you know?
It sounds like Tom Holland isn’t really bothered by Gwyneth Paltrow forgetting about him, noting in his interview with GQ how there were so many people present during Avengers: Endgame, specifically that climactic battle, that it was hard to keep track of everything. And even though he’s since gone on to become one of the most well-known faces in the MCU, he’s still able to look at all these movies as a fan like he did during the first two Phases, which keeps him level-headed.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Marvel memory issues first came to light in June when she appeared on an episode of Jon Favreau’s Netflix series, The Chef Show, and reacted with confusion when the man who plays Happy Hogan reminded her that she was in Spider-Man: Homecoming, countering that she was in The Avengers. It was only after Favreau started listing details about Pepper Potts’ cameo that Paltrow not only remember shooting that scene, but realized that was filmed for a Spider-Man movie.
Weeks later, Tom Holland mentioned not just the Spider-Man: Homecoming incident, but also how Gwyneth Paltrow took a picture with him and Robert Downey Jr. on the Avengers: Endgame set and she captioned it on Instagram as “Robert Downey Jr, myself and this guy.” Then in August, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige recalled when Paltrow asked him why Samuel L. Jackson was present for the filming of Tony Stark’s funeral, evidently unaware the man played Nick Fury, who at this point has appeared in 11 MCU movies.
Going forward, Gwyneth Paltrow probably won’t have to worry about adding anymore MCU memories, as she said that she doesn’t plan on playing Pepper Potts again after Avengers: Endgame, at least not in a major capacity. She acknowledged that she’d be willing to cameo in the future if requested, but for now, just like with Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, Endgame marked her last MCU appearance.
As for Tom Holland, while he’s set to play Spider-Man in at least one more Spider-Man movie, he won’t be part of the MCU going forward. Last month, Disney and Sony severed its Spidey partnership reportedly due to financial disagreements, meaning that Kevin Feige will no longer be a lead producer on future live action Spider-Man movies and the Web-Slinger will be contained to Sony-only productions.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for any updates concerning the MCU, including if Disney and Sony are able to resolve their differences and collaborate on Spider-Man again. For now, keep track of what this shared universe has coming to the big screen in our handy guide.
