Credit: Inside the MagicMarvel star Tom Holland teased fans with a “big announcement to come” yesterday, and now that the news is here, Spider-Man fans can’t help but feel betrayed.
Since Captain America: Civil War (2017), Tom Holland has portrayed Peter Parker, AKA Spider-Man, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a role that rocketed him from “up-and-coming British actor” to “global superstar.” Since then, Holland has become a linchpin of the MCU (particularly after the departure of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man) and has begun to cautiously expand into his own potential franchises, like Uncharted (2022).
Still, fans had high hopes that Tom Holland’s announcement would involve some news of Spider-Man 4, the much-rumored sequel to his mega-successful MCU trilogy of solo films.
Related: Tom Holland Shows Why He Should Always Play Spider-Man
Instead, it has been announced that Tom Holland would return to London’s West End in an upcoming new production of Romeo & Juliet by acclaimed theatrical director Jamie Lloyd. Obviously, Holland will be taking on the titular role of Romeo, but no other cast members have been announced as of yet.
The new production in the West End will begin in May and run for a limited engagement of 12 weeks at the Duke of York Theater. A short teaser for Romeo & Juliet reads: “Tom Holland is Romeo in Jamie Lloyd’s pulsating new vision of Shakespeare’s immortal tale of wordsmiths, rhymers, lovers and fighters.”
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While Spider-Man fans may be disappointed that this is not the actor’s return to the MCU, theatrical fans have a more positive outlook. Prior to his work in superhero movies, Tom Holland performed in the West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical between 2008 and 2010, so, for many, this is a welcome return for an actor who had “gone Hollywood.”
Related: Tom Holland Hints at Spider-Man Retirement, Addresses “Marvel Machine”
Twitter user @_ChristopherM posted, “Just funny folks were expecting Tom Holland to announce he was playing DANNY PHANTOM or something related to SPIDER-MAN 4. Good on Holland for taking on that kind of project. 12 weeks, wow.”
While another, @JGrffs, went a little further, saying, “I give Tom Holland S*** sometimes but him saying there is a “big announcement” tomorrow and getting all the Spider-Man fans riled up then the announcement is him returning to theater to be the lead role in a new stage play for Romeo and Juliet is so f***ing awesome”
In many ways, Tom Holland returning to the West End for a production by a renowned experimental director like Jamie Lloyd has similarities to another young British actor who found global fame in a mega-franchise. In 2007, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe performed in productions of the controversial Peter Shaffer play Equus in both the West End and Broadway, which was widely seen as an attempt to separate himself from his family-friendly image and take on more mature roles.
For Radcliffe, that meant critical acclaim and a successful theatrical career. Spider-Man fans may want Peter Parker back, but it sounds like Tom Holland is looking for the former, at least for now.
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