Marvel: when an alcoholic Tom Holland saved Spider-Man’s fate

Tom Holland was a true superhero and saved the Spider-Man franchise! To understand how, we must remember that the cinematographic rights of the character of the Spider-Man and his personal universe belong to Sony and not to Disney.

In order for Spider-Man to be part of the Avengers universe, the two studios therefore made an agreement unprecedented in the history of cinema, allowing Disney to produce and narratively oversee the evolution of Peter Parker while leaving the distribution, marketing and a (big) part of Sony’s revenue.

But this state of affairs is a precarious balance called into question between the releases of Spider-Man: Far From Home and No Way Home, Sony and Disney no longer finding financial common ground. It is August 21, 2019 and the situation is uncertain.

A few days later, Tom Holland is on stage at the D23 Expo to promote the Pixar film En avant, of which he is one of the voices alongside Chris Pratt. Interviewed during the event, he talks about his desire to remain Spider-Man within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Shortly after, he decides to join the CEO of Disney Bob Iger to tell him all the happiness that the role of Peter Parker has brought him, as he tells it to GQ :

Sony Pictures

“I asked for Bob’s email to thank him, tell him that [Homecoming et Far From Home] had been the best five years of my life and that it had changed my life in the best possible way and that I wanted to work on again [avec Disney] in the future. “

Except that you don’t reach the CEO of one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world that easily, even when your name is Tom Holland. Iger replies that they will call each other “soon” but that he doesn’t know when. And the days go by …

One evening, while Tom Holland is in a pub doing a quiz after having already drunk three pints of beer, the phone rings and it’s an unknown number. The actor picks up and understands that it is Bob Iger. By his own admission, the actor admitted to having been “very sentimental” and confided to CinemaBlend :

I was pretty tipsy, because I was upset that I was no longer in the MCU.

“I think we talked about my passion for the character”, develops the actor, “of the importance of Spider-Man in the MCU and what I can bring and offer. I think that resonated with him a lot (…). And I believe after that conversation he met Tom Rothman and Tony Vinciquerra [les PDG de Sony, NdlR] and that they were able to close the deal “.

Indeed, the end of the Sony / Disney collaboration meant that the Peter Parker played by Holland had to leave the MCU and no longer be a part of the Avengers or the world overseen by Kevin Feige. For his part, Bob Iger has recount his version of the phone call to Jimmy Kimmel:

Backgrid USA / Bestimage

“We talked and actually… he cried on the phone (laughs)! No, not really, but it was clear that he was very involved and obviously we are very attached to him, he is a fantastic Spider- Man (…).

I immediately flashed on him and it was clear the fans wanted [qu’il reste dans le MCU]. So I made a few calls to our team at Disney Studios and then called the Sony executives to say ‘we have to find a solution to make this work, for Tom and for the fans’.

And this is how Tom Holland was instrumental in creating Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is now one of Sony and Marvel Studios’ biggest hits with (as of this writing) 1, $ 3 billion reported since its release in mid-December.

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