The director behind the Spider-Man star Tom Holland's next Hollywood movie may have just been revealed.
British actor Tom Holland has quickly shot to stardom as one of the hottest names in Hollywood after finding fame as the MCU's Spider-Man. The wall-crawler actor has already churned out six superhero appearances across just five years, but now Holland has come to something of a crossroads.
2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home brought the actor's Marvel contract to an end, leaving him free to explore whatever other work he may please. Although he will certainly be back in the MCU soon enough as plans are already underway for a second trilogy and more team-ups.
In recent years, Holland took to screens in Uncharted, Cherry, The Devil All the Time, Chaos Walking, Onward, and Spies in Disguise - and that's all in the few years since 2019's Avengers: Endgame. But lately, his future appeared rather up in the air with only the already-filmed The Crowded Room on the horizon, until now.
Tom Holland Could Team With Sam Mendes
Speaking on The Hot Mic Podcast, Above the Line's Jeff Sneider revealed he has heard that Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes may be eyeing the MCU's Spider-Man actor Tom Holland for his next movie.
Mendes took home an Academy Award for directing American Beauty in 2000. He later earned a second nomination in 2020 for his one-take war epic 1917, however, he lost out on the prize to Parasite's Bong Joon-Ho.
The insider was uncertain about what movie Mendes has Holland in his sights for or which studios may be involved. Currently, the British filmmaker has no directorial outings announced having just released Empire of Light in December 2022.
Although Mendes and Neal Street Productions are set to produce an adaptation of the 2012 historical romance novel Beautiful Ruins that will be helmed by the director behind Disney's live-action Mulan remake, Niki Caro.
The novel takes place in 1962 in an Italian seaside village in which a young innkeeper crosses paths with a gorgeous American actress. In the present day, the now-elderly Italian man travels to Hollywood in search of the beautiful starlet.
Obviously, the description of the young innkeeper lead aligns with the reported interest in the 26-year-old Holland. Although this report could also refer to another upcoming movie that Mendes will direct or another of his producing ventures.
Mendes' next directorial outing will actually come on the stages of London as he helms writer Jack Thorne's The Motive and the Cue for the National Theatre, with the play set to open in Spring 2023.
Holland's only confirmed upcoming movie - aside from the obvious Spider-Man 4 - comes with Sony's Fred Astaire biopic which hasn't seen any movement since the actor was cast and received the script in December 2021.
It should be noted that Sneider's wording stated that Mendes "has his eyes on Tom Holland for his next movie," but does not explicitly state that the actor has been cast or any deal has been signed.
Why Tom Holland Is About to Be VERY Busy
Spider-Man: No Way Home brought Tom Holland's initial MCU contract to a close, leaving him between deals as preparations begin for a follow-up trilogy. However, reports circulated in November 2022 that indicated the British actor had agreed to a new deal to continue his Peter Parker story.
That being said, Sony appears to be taking its time to develop Spider-Man 4, with no indication of production beginning anytime soon. This comes despite a previously rumored July 12, 2024 release date, although the likelihood of that happening currently appears rather unlikely, to say the least.
Back in February 2022, Holland revealed his plans to "[take] a break" from acting after wrapping up production on Apple TV+'s The Crowded Room. The anthology series filmed from March to September 2022 and has now wrapped, indicating the actor is currently on his promised acting break:
“I am going back to shoot a TV show for Apple, which I'm really excited about... But I can confidently say that after I finish that TV show, I will be taking a break.”
The actor gave no specifics on how long exactly that break would last, and that's particularly hard to determine as Holland doesn't currently have any imminently filming projects on the horizon. If his role in Mendes' next movie comes to pass, that will probably serve as his return to acting.
But both that and the potential Fred Astaire biopic will have to get underway in the not-too-distant future before Holland becomes trapped in the Marvel machine for some time. After all, once the actor puts back on his famous spandex suit, he will likely be stuck in it for some time to come.
Between Spider-Man 4, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, Avengers: Secret Wars, and then another two wall-crawler sequels, Sony and Marvel Studios will certainly be keeping Holland busy with almost back-to-back projects for several years, potentially leaving little room for him to tackle much else in Hollywood.
Tom Holland will next take to screens in Apple TV+'s The Crowded Room, which is expected to hit the streaming service in 2023.
