Fresh off his West End turn leading William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Tom Holland is ready to hit the ground running, debuting a brand-new non-alcoholic beer alongside his girlfriend and co-star Zendaya and providing a small update on development of the much-anticipated fourth entry in the MCU‘s “Spider-Man” franchise. Speaking in a recent interview on the “Rich Roll Podcast,” Holland explained how he’s making “Spider-Man 4” a priority, especially in regards to his creative involvement.
“We have a creative and we have a pitch, and a draft which is excellent,” said Holland. “It needs work, but the writers are doing a great job. I read it three weeks ago and it really lit a fire in me. Zendaya and I sat down and read it together and we at times were bouncing around the living room like this is a real movie worthy of the fans’ respect, but there’s a few things we need to figure out before we can get that really going.”
Earlier in the interview, Holland detailed how he’s now been able to peek behind the Marvel curtain and learn how these films are put together at a granular level.
“I have three or four things I’m juggling with right now, the biggest of which is my sort of re-entry into the MCU and what that looks like,” Holland said. “It’s been a really fantastic experience that Tom [Rothman] and Kevin [Feige] have allowed me into the kind of creative bubble of Marvel and I’ve got to see firsthand how these films are built from the ground up. It’s been so fun to sit in the room and see these guys pitching back and forth and every now and then I’ll chime in with something.”
As much input as Holland gets to have on the franchise he’s the face of (when he’s not masked), he still understands that the film must fit into a much wider tapestry and that requires a bit more patience, especially now that the MCU is dealing in the multiverse.
“One of the things is that, with Marvel, your film is a small cog in a large machine,” said Holland. “That machine has got to keep running. You have to make sure you can fit into that timeline at the right time to benefit the bigger picture. That’s one of the challenges we’re facing. The time in which we need to get that done is a tall order but definitely achievable with the fantastic people we have working on it now.”
Could this be a sly reference to the upcoming “Fantastic Four” film currently in production? We’ll leave you to theorize, but one thing is for certain: “Spider-Man 4” seems to be in pretty good shape and Holland credits a lot of that to the Marvel ethos of serving fans.
“I feel like it’s the only studio working in unison with the fan group,” he said on the “Rich Roll Podcast.” “Like fan service is a really big thing at Marvel.”
While no director has officially signed on, it was confirmed by Variety last month that “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” helmer Destin Daniel Cretton was in early talks to take the reins from Jon Watts, who leaves the franchise after directing the first three films. Cretton was initially signed on to direct “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” but left shortly before it was scrapped for the new double entry from the returning Russo Brothers.
Watch Holland’s full interview below.
