Spider-Man: Brand New Day just rewrote the box office record books. Tom Holland’s fourth outing as Peter Parker opened to a franchise-best $360 million domestically, edging out Avengers: Endgame’s $357.1 million to claim the biggest domestic opening weekend of all time, according to Deadline. Worldwide, the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed film pulled in roughly $932 million in its first frame, the second-biggest global opening ever behind only Endgame. It also anchored the single biggest weekend in domestic box office history, with North American theaters generating around $430 million across all releases.
Yet despite presiding over the biggest Spider-Man opening in history — and the darkest turn Peter Parker has taken on screen — Holland doesn’t think his own films are the best Spider-Man movies ever made. In a new interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor made clear where he ranks Sony’s animated Spider-Verse films starring Miles Morales — well above his own MCU trilogy.
Tom Holland’s Exact Plan for Passing the Spider-Man Baton
Speaking with Horowitz about the future of the character, Holland was asked whether he has a clear picture of when he’ll eventually step away from the role.
Josh Horowitz: “Like in your head, will you know when it’s time to kind of pass the baton and like, have you imagined how you want that to go down?”
Tom Holland: “Oh yeah. There’s a whole plan that we have been working on for I would say since we finished Spider-Man: No Way Home and it’s like laid out, it’s gonna change for sure. But I have a really clear vision to the passing on of the baton.”
He continued, growing visibly animated about the subject:
“And I think it’s really exciting. I know I get really excited when we have these meetings and chat about it. But that is the thing that I wanna do most in this character for sure.”
Holland then turned to what he sees as the real strength of the wider Spider-Man landscape beyond his own films:
“What’s been so fun over these last few years is that there are so many different Spider-Man mediums. We have my version, we have the stuff that Sony have been doing, we have the animated movies that Sony make, which are just like the best Spider-Man movies that have ever been made, those animated movies.”
He closed with the line that’s since gone viral:
“You can’t, the heart in those movies is out of this world.”
Why the Animated Spider-Verse Films Outshine His Own Trilogy
Holland isn’t alone in that assessment. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has done what many considered impossible: it lived up to the expectations set by its remarkable prequel. Now, we have not just one but two amazing Spider-Man animated films starring Miles Morales that have the potential of smoothly becoming the best Spidey trilogy we’ve ever seen. This epic saga has done justice to fan-favorite characters that previously only inhabited the pages of some of the most obscure Marvel comic books. As someone who grew up watching the 90s Spider-Man cartoon, it blew my mind to finally see Miguel O’Hara’s Spider-Man 2099 on the big screen – and that’s just one of the many characters the Spider-Verse franchise has brought to life in theaters. But with Beyond the Spider-Verse on the horizon, will this trilogy deliver the perfect ending—or leave us with a heartbreaking conclusion that redefines Spider-Man’s legacy?
The Spider-Verse Handles the Marvel Multiverse Better Than Anyone Else
Comic book films dominated the last decade. Indisputably so. Nearly every aspect of modern pop culture ties to comic books in some way or another, and studios have been quick to capitalize on that. Soon, every superhero flick was connected, leading to what we know as the modern “Cinematic Universes.” Nonetheless, as these franchises continue to expand exponentially in complexity, it has become increasingly problematic to keep tabs on every character involved. That’s where the Spider-Verse franchise has a time to shine.
The way the Spider-Verse films have approached the Marvel Multiverse remains the most satisfying – and conceptually fascinating – we’ve seen in any comic book movie. The only other movie that tried to tackle a similar concept – Multiverse of Madness – failed to capture the “madness” of the infinite possibilities that come with an interconnected web of alternate universes.
The Creative Risks That Make the Spider-Verse Trilogy Unstoppable
It’s clear that the creative team behind the Spider-Verse films isn’t afraid to take risks. Whether it’s with its daring aesthetics or with its unconventional storytelling, the Spider-Verse trilogy feels like a breath of fresh air for Spidey in more ways than we can count. From Miles Morales’ youthful energy to the colorful tapestry of possibilities that is the Spider-Verse, everything about this franchise feels like the next evolutionary step in the comic book movie formula.
Can Beyond the Spider-Verse Break Spider-Man’s Tragic Cycle?
As a rule – both in comics and films – Spidey just seems unable to get a happy ending. Whether it’s due to a disappointing third entry, or because everyone forgetting he even existed – previous Spider-Man trilogies have ended with our character in a much worse state than how he began his journey. Beyond the Spider-Verse has the potential to change that unwritten rule. In fact, that process has already started.
Not only did we finally get to see a possible timeline where Peter and Mary Jane are actually happy for once, but it seems like things could end well for Miles and Gwen in this trilogy. This alone would elevate the Spider-Verse franchise a notch above its live-action counterparts – finally delivering the satisfactory conclusion fans have been wanting for Spidey since forever.
RELATED: Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse — Is Mayday An Anomaly?
Is This the Future of Superhero Movies?
With its commitment to expanding the Marvel Multiverse and defying conventions, this franchise has the potential to secure its place as the pinnacle of comic book cinema, forever altering our perception of what a superhero film can be. Considering how some critics already talk about “superhero fatigue,” perhaps the future of the genre lies in more inventive, animated flicks just like these. The Spider-Verse phenomenon is here to stay, and its impact on the genre is set to reverberate for years to come.
Could Tom Holland Cameo in Beyond the Spider-Verse?
It’s a notable bit of humility from the actor at the center of the character’s most commercially dominant era. Holland’s Peter Parker just delivered the single biggest opening weekend in box office history with Brand New Day, and he still points fans toward Miles Morales’ corner of the multiverse as the creative high-water mark for Spider-Man on screen — raising the question of whether his version of Peter Parker could actually turn up in it. The precedent is already there: Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire both crossed into live-action multiverse chaos in No Way Home, and the Spider-Verse films have built their entire mythology around alternate Spider-People bleeding into each other’s universes.
Nothing has been confirmed, and Holland’s comments to Horowitz were about admiration rather than a tease of his own involvement. But between Brand New Day’s record-breaking numbers and Holland’s clear reverence for the Spider-Verse’s take on the character, a cameo before he eventually passes on the baton is exactly the kind of moment that would send the fandom into overdrive.
RELATED: 10 Spider-Man Memes So Hilarious They’ll Make Even J. Jonah Jameson Laugh
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now playing in cinemas.
