Spider-Man's Tom Holland teases the convergence of 'three generations' in No Way Home

Before you jump to conclusions after reading that headline and assume that Tom Holland finally confirmed the involvement of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in next month's Spider-Man: No Way Home, we've got some bad news for you. Holland was actually talking about the different villains of decades past, particularly Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) and Electro (Jamie Foxx). Beyond trade reports and a strong hint on the recently-released teaser poster, fans have yet to hear about Electro from a core member of the film's production.

"It was interesting having those guys come in because they have a certain ownership over Spider-Man in their own way," Holland said during an exclusive chat with TotalFilm. "I’m talking about Alfred and Jamie and those guys. To see Alfred come in, and have to adapt and change to the way that the films are made, but also change director, and also [the fact that] I’m now Spider-Man. It was really interesting to see these actors adapt and change what they were doing to fit the modern era."

Sadly, the young actor is still sticking to the policy of flat-out denial when it comes to rumors of other Peter Parkers showing up in the movie. The worst part? We're starting to believe it ourselves (the hope that this is just one of the worst-kept secrets in cinema history dwindles with each passing day).

"People don’t believe me when I say that [Maguire and Garfield] are not coming back," Holland continued. "But people are going to have to believe me at some point. It means a lot to me. The first time you see Doc and the rest of the characters that come back, it’s so exciting — and it’s such a huge moment in cinematic history. It’s three generations coming together."

Previous creatives to dabble within the Spider-Verse are also looking forward to this convergence of realities (a byproduct of Doctor Strange casting a questionable spell). Speaking with us in late September, director Sam Raimi — who oversaw the Maguire trilogy — expressed his excitement over seeing Molina's Doc Ock in the trailer from over the summer.

“That was beautiful," he told SYFY WIRE. "He looks great, the animation’s great. I’m assuming it’s not puppeted because when we did Doc Ock, we had puppets and animation for his octopus tentacles. But it was smooth and powerful and I loved his costume they kept [from the original]. I think it’s gonna be a great movie."

Raimi, of course, will take the multiversal baton from No Way Home in next year's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is scheduled to hit theaters everywhere on Friday, Dec. 17.

"What people will be really surprised about is that it’s not fun, this film," Holland also teased to TotalFilm. "It’s dark and it’s sad, and it’s going to be really affecting. You’re going to see characters that you love go through things that you would never wish for them to go through. And I was just really excited to kind of lean into that side of Peter Parker."