Tom Holland helped put Spider-Man back in the MCU after the deal was "100 percent dead"

The inside story of Spider-Man’s dramatic return to the MCU has been revealed. Inevitably, it was left up to Tom Holland to play the role of real-life superhero to reconnect Sony and Marvel in a deal that was, according to reports, “100 percent dead” before the British actor stepped in.

THR states that a post-D23 meeting with Sony film chairman Tom Rothman helped move things forward. In a week that Holland described as “crazy,” he also reached out directly to Disney CEO Bob Iger.

While details haven’t surfaced about what exactly Holland said in either interaction, his timely intervention has seemingly pulled back Sony and Marvel from the brink of a complete collapse in negotiations.

It’s worth noting Holland holds considerable sway at Sony and Marvel, despite his relatively young age. Alongside Spider-Man 3, he’s also set to appear in a future (unknown) Marvel movie, Sony’s Spider-Man cinematic universe, and an Uncharted movie – which has recently seen its sixth director join the project.

From there, the two parties eventually thrashed out a deal – one that saw Disney take 25 percent of all profits on 2021’s Spider-Man 3 as well as also pitching in for a quarter of the threequel’s budget.

The relief was palpable. Kevin Feige said in a statement last Friday: “I am thrilled that Spidey’s journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it. Spider-Man is a powerful icon and hero whose story crosses all ages and audiences around the globe. He also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold.”

Now that the tangled web of Spider-Man’s cinematic future has been unravelled, it’s left to Holland to take the lead – but this time in the Big Apple instead of boardrooms.

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.