Tom Holland on the future of his Spider-Man after No Way Home: 'We would tonally change the films'

What comes after Spider-Man: No Way Home? Only the Sorcerer Supreme has the ability to look that far ahead, but Tom Holland has a few ideas about what the future might hold for his big screen interpretation of Peter Parker once his trilogy wraps.

Catching up with Entertainment Weekly for the magazine's fall 2021 movie preview, the actor mused on how Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures can keep the character going once he's baptized by mutiversal fire. Remember: we're in uncharted territory here — no other live-action Spidey has made it past three Home-related films. It's worth noting that No Way Home is the end of Holland's current contract with both studios, though he says he's not ready to hang up the suit anytime soon.

"We were all treating [No Way Home] as the end of a franchise, let's say," he told EW. "I think if we were lucky enough to dive into these characters again, you'd be seeing a very different version. It would no longer be the Homecoming trilogy. We would give it some time and try to build something different and tonally change the films. Whether that happens or not, I don't know. But we were definitely treating [No Way Home] like it was coming to an end, and it felt like it."

Luckily, fans won't have to worry about it for quite some time. We've still got two full months to go until Doctor Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) accidentally rips open a hole in the multiverse and lets old foes — like Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus — into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"It was really fun to watch him see how technology has advanced," Holland said of bringing Doc Ock into the modern age 17 years later, echoing what Sam Raimi exclusively told SYFY WIRE last month. "When he was making these films, the arms were puppets, and when we did it, they're all imaginary and CG. It was quite cool to see him relive it, but also relearn it."

Given Venom: Let There Be Carnage's record-breaking debut at the domestic box office earlier this month, it's probably safe to assume (fingers crossed) that Sony will stick to its Friday, Dec. 17 release date for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Jon Watts returned to helm the trilogy capper with a lot more self-assuredness than he or Holland had when the rebooted franchise first began four summers ago. 

"The first film, Jon Watts and I were sort of flying by the seat of our pants," Holland admitted to EW. "This one, I think we both felt really confident, so we were able to relax. We actually had so much more fun on this one than we did on the previous two."