Five years ago, Tom Holland joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe to play Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, and he’s appeared in just as many movies since then. Well, for now, as this December’s Spider-Man: No Way Home will mark his sixth appearance as the Web-Slinger, and judging from the reports and the threequel’s trailer, there’s a lot of excitement in store, even by Spider-Man movie levels. But in an age where many film series conclude after a trilogy, could this mark the end of the MCU’s Spider-Man film series? According to the actor, shooting No Way Home certainly felt like the end of an era.
In a recent interview, Tom Holland described Spider-Man: No Way Home as a “conclusion” to his Spider-Man trilogy, specifically wrapping up the narrative that he and Jon Watts kicked off in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The actor then said the following to EW:
We were all treating [No Way Home] as the end of a franchise, let's say. I think if we were lucky enough to dive into these characters again, you'd be seeing a very different version. It would no longer be the Homecoming trilogy. We would give it some time and try to build something different and tonally change the films. Whether that happens or not, I don't know. But we were definitely treating [No Way Home] like it was coming to an end, and it felt like it.
So while Tom Holland didn’t rule out the possibility that he could return as Spider-Man in the MCU (and if a report from back in fall 2019 is accurate, he is set to appear in a separate Marvel Studios movie at some point), it definitely sounds like as things stand now, Spider-Man: No Way Home will conclude the story that began in 2017, just one year after this Spidey debuted in Captain America: Civil War. That’s not to say that there couldn’t be more Spider-Man movies to follow, but Holland made it clear that No Way Home will feel like a chapter is coming to a close.
Given that the MCU has extended Thor and Captain America’s respective film series past the traditional trilogy (although Captain America 4 will star Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson rather than Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers), it wouldn’t be surprising if Spider-Man followed suit. And while I won’t share any spoilers here, let’s just say something big happened in a recent superhero movie indicating that Tom Holland’s time as Spider-Man isn’t ending anytime soon. That said, Holland also mentioned that he particularly felt this “finality” of shooting Spider-Man: No Way Home during one of his last days on set, when shooting a scene with Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, which led to all three of them getting emotional. In the actor’s words:
We've been making these films for five years now. We've had such an amazing relationship, the three of us. We've been with each other every step of the way. We've done every single film, every single press tour. So this one scene, [we didn't know] if this would be the last time [we were all working together.] [It] was heartbreaking but also really exciting because we're all moving into the next chapter of our careers. So sharing that moment with them was maybe the best day I've ever had on set. I don't think I've cried like that ever.
Assuming Spider-Man: No Way Home won’t be Tom Holland’s last Spider-Man solo movie, his quote above makes it sound like this may be the last time we see this Peter Parker with MJ and Ned. As such, with Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home having followed along with Peter in high school, maybe a hypothetical Spider-Man 4, and by extension a new Spider-Man trilogy, would see him web-slinging while in college. After all, it was only several years after his comic book debut that Peter graduated high school and enrolled in Empire State University, and we also watched Tobey Maguire’s Peter navigate that college life two decades ago.
Whether more Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movies are indeed being planned after Spider-Man: No Way Home remains to be seen, though with Jon Watts next set to helm the Fantastic Four reboot, a new director would almost certainly need to be recruited to tackle such movies. For now, moviegoers can look forward to No Way Home swinging into theaters on December 17, and we’ll keep you apprised of any major cinematic Spidey updates as they trickle in.
