Created over 60 years ago by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Spider-Man is perhaps one of the most iconic comic book characters of all time. Now, it has been revealed who will be stepping into the suit and replacing Tom Holland as Spidey, and we already know what he looks like.
Tom Holland first blasted onto the scene in Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A product of a contract with Sony Pictures, who still own the rights to the Spider-Man catalog of characters, Holland’s appearance in the Captain America threequel was a much celebrated moment.
Holland went on to star in his own trilogy of movies Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2019). He was also part of the huge ensemble cast in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
The arrival of Spider-Man in the MCU was unlike any other live-action portrayal thus far. Here, director Jon Watts and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige decided to bring the character into the shared live-action Marvel universe already complete with his powers. There would be no spider bite and no tragic Uncle Ben storyline; instead, the MCU gave audiences a youthful rookie trying to find his way in the world with his new powers.
Holland was joined by Zendaya and Jacob Batalon as MJ and Ned Leeds, respectively, in the Spider-Man trilogy. In No Way Home, the trio would star alongside Spider-Man legacy actors Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) and Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man), who, after months of rampant rumors, appeared via the Multiverse, much to the joy of fans.
As the future for this cast of characters remains uncertain — everyone did forget who Peter Parker was, after all — and Tom Holland takes a break and branches out to different types of roles, it is unclear what’s next for the live-action Spidey world. In animation, though, news has broke about who will be replacing Holland as the new Spider-Man.
After being revealed on Disney+ Day in 2021, Spider-Man fans have been anxiously awaiting updates on Spider-Man: Freshman Year. More concrete information about Spider-Man: Freshman Year was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, with Brad Winderbaum (What If…?) eventually explaining how the Multiverse will play into this new story. Winderbaum highlighted how Peter Parker would follow the live-action story in Captain America: Civil War (2016).
However, instead of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) taking Peter Parker under his wing, it would be Norman Osborn. Spider-Man: Freshman Year is confirmed to be set before and around the events of the Phase Three MCU movie and will seemingly be a “what if?” style of series.
Fans can expect to see both Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio return as Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, respectively. The pair first appeared in the popular Netflix TV show Daredevil before making appearances in the MCU. D’Onofrio first in Hawkeye on Disney+, and Cox as Peter Parker’s lawyer in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Related: Disney, Marvel Scraps Two Highly Anticipated Shows in 2024
It was revealed earlier this year that the famous Japanese animation studio Polygon Pictures would be working on Spider-Man: Freshman Year. Their statement said: “Animation for Spider-Man: Freshman Year will be produced by Japanese digital animation studio Polygon Pictures,” the press release reads. “We hope you are looking forward to this return to the world of Spider-Man, utilizing the latest CG technology!”
In Japan, Spider-Man: No Way Home was the first major Hollywood movie to gross over 4 billion yen at the post-COVID box office.
Back when Polygon Pictures was announced as working on Spider-Man: Freshman Year, the project still did not have a leading man to play the titular Spider-Man. Now, that has changed, as the entire cast for Spider-Man: Freshman Year has been revealed. And, as expected, it’s goodbye Tom Holland and hello, Hudson Thames.
Thames portrayed the Multiversal version of Spider-Man in the animated series What If…? back in 2021, so it was a huge possibility that the voice actor and musician would be a top choice for the superhero studio. In a world where the future for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is uncertain (will there be a fourth movie? Won’t there be a fourth movie?), it was highly likely that the prominent Hollywood star would not return to voice this other Multiversal counterpart. Thanks to Thames’ appearance in What If…?, fans already have a first look at the new Spider-Man actor.
Joining Thames will be Eugene Byrd as Lonnie Lincoln, Grace Song as Nico Minoru, Hugh Dancy as Otto Octavius, Kari Wahlgren as Aunt May, and Zeno Robinson as Harry Osborn, U.S. Copyright Office notes (via Comic Book Movie and Cosmic Circus). Thames also voiced the character of Spider-Man on the Disney Cruise Line’s Avengers: Quantum Encounter show.
The registration for Spider-Man: Freshman Year comes as the cast list and release date for Agatha: Darkhold Diaries is updated, and Daredevil: Born Again and Ironheart get pushed to 2025, also revealed in filings to the Copyrights Office.
It is unknown whether Tom Holland will return as the web-slinging wallcrawler in future installments of the MCU or Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. The Crowded Room actor recently said discussions had begun on Spider-Man 4 before the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strikes shut down those talks. The WGA strike may have come to an end, but the Screen Actors Guild and Association of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) still goes on.
Related: Andrew Garfield Replaced as Peter Parker in ‘Spider-Man’ Franchise, Tom Holland Weighs In
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) first confirmed a proper link between the MCU and the SSU, with Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock/Venom then appearing in the mid-credits scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home at the end of 2021. Spider-Man is a shared entity between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures, with character rights belonging to the latter. Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal are seemingly working together again to continue telling the tale of Holland’s Peter Parker and the life he left behind.
Spider-Man: Freshman Year will be released on November 2, 2024. Spider-Man: Sophomore Year is in development.
Are you sad Tom Holland is not starring as Spider-Man in this new TV show? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!