Earlier in June, Spider-Man: Brand New Day star Tom Holland once again alluded to being ready to walk away from playing the Marvel Cinematic Universe hero he’s embodied since 2015’s Captain America: Civil War. “I would love to be a part of setting up the next chapter,” he told Empire. “Whatever that looks like, I don’t know. But if I could do what [Robert] Downey [Jr.] did for me, then I would be so content swinging off into the sunset.”
Now, in a new interview with Esquire, Holland revealed he already has an actor in mind who could don the red-and-blue onesie when Holland hangs it up himself. “Owen Cooper would be awesome,” he said. “Obviously, he’s super-talented and he’s the talk of the town right now.”
Cooper is the baby-faced star of last year’s Netflix thriller Adolescence, in which he played a preteen accused of murder. (Very not-Spider-Man-like behavior, but we’ll give him a pass.) He received several accolades for his work in the series, like a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor on Television. He made his film debut earlier this year in Wuthering Heights and will appear in 2027’s Cry to Heaven.
Like Holland, Cooper is English. In a hypothetical scenario where Holland hangs up the tights and Cooper straps the webshooters on, he’d be the third English actor to play Peter Parker after Holland and Andrew Garfield in Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man duology. (The British are coming… for the biggest role in American superhero movies.)
In the same interview with Esquire, Holland reiterated his idea of being a mentor for whoever comes next, similar to how Downey Jr. was a mentor for him. On-screen, that’d only work with multiversal shenanigans if Holland and someone else were to both play Peter Parker.
Of course, plenty of Spidey fans are ready to see Miles Morales join the MCU. If that were to happen, Holland could channel his inner Jake Johnson and mentor a young Morales. But, because of licensing agreements between Disney and Sony, Morales — or Spider-Gwen, or Spider-Woman, or any other Spider-Hero — joining the MCU at all feels very up in the air.
For now, Holland is stuck as Spider-Man. You’ll see him next in the role when Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31.
Log off, Tom Holland
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