Tom Holland Reveals How Previous Spider-Man Actors Have Influenced His Performance

Like Superman and Batman, Spider-Man has become something of a cinematic legacy character. Tobey Maguire was the first to bring the Spider-Man to life on screen in Sam Raimi’s trilogy of movies, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, and Spider-Man 3. When Sony rebooted the franchise, Andrew Garfield was the next to take on the role for Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

With Sony and Marvel coming to an agreement that sees Spider-Man becoming part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the character’s torch has been passed again. Tom Holland debuted as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War and will star in his first Spider-Man movie for Sony Pictures, Spider-Man: Homecoming, in 2017.

So has Holland taken any advice from his predecessors? While he hasn’t contact either Maguire or Garfield directly, that doesn’t mean they haven’t influenced his Spider-Man performance.

“I actually haven’t been in contact with them,” Holland tells The Hollywood Reporter.
“But it’s so lucky because I’ve got five movies that I can draw from. I watched every single one years before I even got cast in this movie. And then we watched them all again and just picked little things that I thought was great and that I’d like to keep.”

It is always interesting to see how a shared character like Spider-Man develops over years and generations as different creative forces take ownership of it, be it in cinema, comics, television, or anywhere else.

So far we’ve had a trilogy inspired primarily by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and John Romita’s original Spider-Man comics of the 1960s, as adapted to film by Sam Raimi. The Andre Garfield films, directed by Sam Raimi, brought a sleeker, cooler aesthetic to the hero and his world.

So far we’ve only had a taste of what Holland’s Spider-Man will be like. We know it will be a high school trilogy, and his Captain America: Civil War appearance suggests it will soak up the lightness and humor of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Beyond that, audiences will have to just wait and see what Holland and director Jon Watts have in store.

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Spider-Man: Homecoming will follow a high school-aged Peter Parker who is still learning to balance his personal life with the power and responsibility that comes with being Spider-Man.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is directed by Jon Watts, from a screenplay by Jonathan M. Goldstein & John Francis Daley and Watts & Christopher Ford and Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, and stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Bokeem Woodbine, Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr.

Spider-Man: Homecoming opens in theaters on July 7, 2017.