Tom Holland discusses the "drunk" and tearful phone call that helped keep Spider-Man in the MCU
Holland said of Spider-Man potentially leaving the MCU: "I was really emotional because I felt like it was all coming to an end"
When news emerged that Spider-Man could be leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans banded together to call on Disney and Sony to come to sort of resolution. Surely, Tom Holland's web-slinger couldn't just leave the Avengers?
Soon enough, the two mega-companies came to an agreement that meant Spider-Man could stay in the MCU. While we'll never know the intricacies of those discussions, it looks like Holland played an integral part.
Speaking to Jimmy Kimmel on his late-night show, Holland revealed he was three pints down at a pub when Sony CEO Bob Iger called and asked him his thoughts on brokering a deal with Marvel.
"My family and I went to the pub quiz in our local town, and I’m like three pints in, haven’t eaten much and I get a phone call from an unknown number and I have a feeling, I’m like, ‘I think this is Bob Iger… but I’m drunk,’" Holland told the talk-show host. "So my dad’s like, ‘Just take the call, you’ll do fine!'"
Holland continued: “I basically just said, ‘Thank you for the opportunity,’ and he said, ‘There is a world in which we can make this work’ and then there were a bunch of phone calls back and forth.”
Kimmel pointed out that Iger previously said Holland had cried on the phone, which the actor corrected. “I weeped," he said. "No, I didn’t weep — I did, yeah. Yeah, no, I was really emotional because I felt like it was all coming to an end... We had a really good plan with what we were going to do with Sony, the future of Spider-Man was still really bright, but it would’ve been a shame to take him out of the MCU, because that's where he belongs.” Watch the full interview below.
There you have it: a drunk, weeping Tom Holland helped keep Spider-Man in the MCU. Speaking of which, the web-head's third movie will make up part of the forthcoming Marvel Phase 4, which will begin with Black Widow next year.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Need more Spidey in your life? Here are all the best Spider-Man movies, ranked!
Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.