When it appeared Tom Holland was safe from taking criticisms from people over at Marvel Studios for infamously spoiling big MCU projects, the star was called out again by the studio for the way he promoted Spider-Man: No Way Home prior to the film's release.
Prior to the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Holland had used the terms "brutal" and "emotional" to describe the film. While he didn't exactly spoil the film, Marvel Studios evidently felt those terms were enough to potentially tip off fans as to what to expect from No Way Home.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Holland, who is now busy promoting his upcoming adventure flick Uncharted, recalled the time people over at Marvel Studios called him out for promoting No Way Home as a "brutal" and "emotional" film. "I actually got in trouble on the press tour," Holland shared. "I got a phone call from some people at the studio, saying, 'Stop saying the movie is brutal! Stop saying the movie is emotional! It doesn't sell the movie!'" Holland explained that Marvel Studios wanted Holland to focus on promoting how fun Spider-Man: No Way Home is. "I was like, 'It is fun, but it's also kind of heartbreaking.' So I had to sort of change track on how I was promoting the movie, but I'm glad I gave at least some people some warning," Holland concluded.
While it's understandable why some heads at Marvel Studios were a bit frustrated with Holland revealing the type of tone the film was headed in, it wasn't really a surprise that No Way Home was headed in a darker, more emotional direction. Holland's first two solo outings as the web-slinger, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home, were considered lighter, more comedic additions to the MCU. So when it was confirmed that No Way Home would serve as a conclusion to Holland's Spider-Man trilogy, as well as the multiverse storyline being the main focus, No Way Home's stakes were of course raised.
Even with Holland's comments during that press tour, every fan was going to see the film either way, as No Way Home was one of Marvel Studios' most secretive and highly-anticipated MCU projects to date. Other than centering on the multiverse, the film saw the return of several Spider-Man characters from Sam Raimi and Marc Webb's Spider-Man films, including Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's versions of the iconic hero. The film served as a celebration of three generations of live-action Spider-Man films, as it would go on to break numerous box office records and become one of the MCU's highest-ranked films on multiple review sites.
While it is still unclear in what direction Holland's spidey is headed next, the actor is expected to return for at least three more Spider-Man films, according to Sony producer Amy Pascal. That said, Holland has been playing coy about what he wants to do, suggesting he wouldn't want to play Spider-Man forever.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter