Tom Hollands surprise new role confirms a story of more woe for Spider-Man fans

Two households, both with a lack of dignity, in the fair MCU where we lay our scene. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where memories of Civil War make civil hands unclean.

In other words, there are two halves of warring Spider-Man out there — those that want the next movie for the wallcrawler to continue the super-successful tone of the prior trilogy and those that want things to go in a much different, more traditional direction next time around. You know the one thing that unites the Marvel fandom’s answer to the Montagues and the Capulets, though? They really, really want Spider-Man 4 to get here ASAP.

Unfortunately for them, and probably his agents too, Tom Holland is in no rush to don the red and blue spandex just yet. After raising Marvel lovers’ hopes with the promise of a huge announcement, the actor has revealed he’s returning to the stage to star in a new Romeo & Juliet production heading for London’s West End. This is a big deal for Holland as it’s almost like his career is coming full circle, seeing as he got his big break starring in hit musical Billy Elliot.

But while Holland is parking Peter Parker for the moment, it’s possible that his Romeo & Juliet news might just give us a secret and significant hint at when we can expect Spider-Man 4 to start shooting.

Tom Holland’s Shakespeare stint reveals the earliest Spider-Man 4 can begin production

Playing at London’s Duke of York Theatre, Holland will be busy treading the boards as Romeo from May 11, with performances lasting all the way until Aug. 3. In other words, anyone hoping that Spider-Man 4 could start filming in the next few months might be more miffed than when Juliet woke from her nap to find her husband was dead (oh, sorry, is 500 years too soon for spoilers?).

So the absolute earliest that Spidey 4 can go before cameras is either Q3 or Q4 of 2024. That is assuming that Holland will be coming back as the webslinger. While the star has stressed that he’ll only return if the perfect story can be found, it seems safe to say Sony and Marvel would do everything they can to keep him on board the franchise after the phenomenon that was his last MCU outing.

The best possible scenario, then, is that the two studios get to work hard over the next few months and crank out a script that everybody is pleased with (whether it brings back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield or not) so that shooting can get going in the later months of the year. Otherwise we’re looking at either a 2025 start, which means no release date until 2026 or 2027, or Holland getting replaced in the lead. A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but a Spider-Man by any other face wouldn’t.

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