Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Deadline Makes The MCU’s Spider-Man 4 Even More Important

Tom Holland has set a deadline for his tenure as Spider-Man, which makes Spider-Man 4 within the MCU even more important. Spider-Man: No Way Home was released in 2021 to become the MCU’s highest-grossing non-Avengers movie and its third-highest-grossing movie overall. Suffice it to say, its success cemented Holland’s legacy as the titular webslinger while paying tribute to those of his predecessors, whose appearance was just as much a factor in its success. It also put him on an equal footing with Tobey Maguire by starring in a Spider-Man trilogy.

The success of Spider-Man: No Way Home means that Holland will now transcend that achievement by starring in at least a fourth. While details surrounding Spider-Man 4 are scarce, Holland is still slated to reprise his role. However, Holland has recently stipulated in an interview with Esquire Middle East a deadline for his tenure in the role, stating that playing Spider-Man at age 30 and beyond comes with a significant caveat:

“What I was basically trying to say is that if I am 30 and still playing Spider-Man and I haven’t passed on the baton to a Miles Morales or a Spider-Woman or something more diverse, then I will have done something wrong in the sense of duties that I have to the character.”

If Tom Holland Holds To His Spider-Man Deadline, Spider-Man 4 Could Be One Of His Last MCU Movies

Spider-Man 4 Is Yet To Receive A Release Date

Tom Holland is currently 27 years old and turns 28 on June 1. This means Spider-Man 4 needs to be released within the next two years for Holland to meet his deadline, which is certainly achievable, but still rather tight. It also means that the movie is under added pressure to meet specific conditions for Holland to feel as though his duties have been met if he still feels the same in 2 years. If he does, Spider-Man 4 could be one of Tom Holland’s final movies in the role.

If rumors of a soft reboot in the MCU are to be believed, this could present the perfect opportunity for Holland to, in his words, “pass on the baton.” A post-Avengers: Secret Wars MCU is already poised to look decidedly different with the advent of the MCU’s version of the X-Men expected to take center stage. In such a context, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker could feasibly join his veteran Avengers colleagues like Thor and Bruce Banner and give way to a new slew of MCU stars. As for his replacement, there is no shortage of possibilities.

How Spider-Man 4 Could Set Up A New MCU Spider-Man

As Sony’s celebrated animated Spider-Verse series illustrates, Spider-Man variants are among the most varied and fleshed out in Marvel’s repertoire. Should it go the same way as its Marvel Comics namesake, Avengers: Secret Wars will likely feature a plethora of MCU variants, and Spider-Man’s MCU Phase 7 replacement could feasibly be among them. Despite this, there is a good reason why Holland named Miles Morales.

Morales plays a central role in Marvel’s 2015 “Secret Wars” run. As the Spider-Man of his universe thrust into God Emperor Doom’s Battleworld, he partners up with Peter Parker before his pocket burger sways Molecule Man into lending his incredible power to the heroes. With this in mind, the door is wide open for Marvel to finally adapt Miles Morales in live-action in Avengers: Secret Wars, and have him carry the torch hereinafter.

Similarly, Holland’s suggestion that Spider-Woman could take up the mantle isn’t beyond the realm of possibility. Although Spider-Woman isn’t a variant, which means she could emerge earlier than Avengers: Secret Wars. Spider-Gwen, meanwhile, is another route that Marvel could take safe in the knowledge of her popularity within the Spider-Verse series. Ultimately, however, Morales is possibly the most likely character to pick up the slack following Avengers: Secret Wars.

Why Tom Holland Doesn’t Actually Need To Stop Playing Spider-Man At 30

Ultimately, turning 30 isn’t a true barrier when it comes to playing Spider-Man. While an older Peter Parker is not unheard of, this also doesn’t preclude Holland from portraying a younger character in his early-to-mid-twenties, as his predecessors illustrated with Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Maguire and Garfield would even prove that older Peter Parkers can still have as much impact as they reprized their roles in their mid-40s and mid-30s, respectively, in Spider-Man: No Way Home. An older Peter Parker is also a very established part of Marvel Comics.

Regardless, Holland’s desire to pass on the baton is both feasible and compelling, especially if he remains as a mentor character to his predecessor. As it stands, Spider-Man 4 will be a Holland-starring project with secondary characters like Daredevil likely to contribute. Whether Holland changes his mind on his proposed deadline after this release, however, remains to be seen.