Summary
- Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is only referenced in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, with other versions of the character taking the spotlight.
- The absence of Holland’s Spider-Man is likely a conscious decision by the producers, rather than a contractual or legal issue.
- The decision to only reference Holland’s Spider-Man allows the movie to focus on introducing and exploring other versions of the character, without overshadowing them.
Although other live-action versions of Spider-Man appeared in Across the Spider-Verse, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was only referenced. While the movie didn’t necessarily need the MCU’s Webslinger, his absence was certainly felt considering all the other different versions Spider-Man that were featured in the Spider-Society assembled by Miguel O’Hara’s Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac). However, this is likely for the Spider-Verse sequel’s benefit.
In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is referenced by Miguel along with Doctor Strange as the “little nerdy kid from Earth-19999”. Specifically, Spider-Man 2099 was talking about the recent multiversal crisis Strange and Peter Parker caused in the MCU as seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, both Andrew Garfield’s and Tobey Maguire’s versions of Spider-Man were featured during 2099’s explanation of canon events that occur across the interconnected Spider-Man-centered realities on the Web of Life and Destiny. Remarkably, Holland’s Webslinger does not receive the same kind of cameo appearance exploring one of his own canon events (but that’s a good thing).
Across The Spider-Verse’s Producers Hint At Why Holland Wasn’t In The Live-Action Cameos
Interestingly enough, Across the Spider-Verse’s producers have hinted that Tom Holland’s absence was intentional (rather than being some sort of contractual or legal issue). In an interview with The Wrap, Phil Lord and Chris Miller discussed their process of ideas and all things that they wanted to have in the Spider-Verse sequel:
“We like to feel like anything’s possible in the Multiverse and we just try to do things that seem interesting and fun for our story. And then we let the lawyers decide if they can…Everything we tried to do we were able to pull off.”
This seemingly implies that the lack of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in Across the Spider-Verse was a conscious decision instead of something Lord and Miller weren’t allowed to do by Sony Pictures.
It’s also worth noting that Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s canon events were centered on the loss of friends and loved ones such as Captain Stacy and Uncle Ben respectively. For Holland’s Spider-Man, this would have likely been either the death of Iron Man or his Aunt May, arguably more unique events compared to other Spiders. While the MCU’s Uncle Ben did die as well, the particulars of that canon event were never seen on screen with Spider-Man’s MCU debut happening in Captain America: Civil War about a year after he was bitten by the radioactive spider.
Why Across The Spider-Verse Didn’t Need Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Cameo
With Tom Holland’s MCU Spider-Man being the most current live-action version of the Webslinger, his canon events are in more recent movies and therefore less necessary to show in Across the Spider-Verse compared to Garfield or Maguire’s. Likewise, it’s possible that the decision to only reference Holland was to ensure that the MCU Spider-Man wouldn’t overshadow the movie in its goal of introducing so many other Spiders, giving them their own spotlights while also continuing the journey of Miles Morales and Gwen. However, it’s also possible that an even bigger appearance from Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is being saved for Beyond The Spider-Verse now that the Spider-Soceity has been fleshed out.