You may not find a more popular modern superhero than Tom Holland's Spider-Man. The webslinger was already insanely popular before he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe but Holland's arrival in the juggernaut franchise gave fans all over the world the moment that they had been longing for. From there, a new, even more successful chapter of that legacy could begin.
The star has now played the wall-crawler in the MCU's Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy, along with appearances in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The character hasn't been seen since 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home but he is set to return in 2026's Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
And yet, it turns out that he could have made a comeback much, much sooner than that if some of Sony's original plans had played out. Although Marvel Studios always had plans for him, Sony owns the movie rights to the character, meaning that he could have made some non-MCU appearances had the studio followed through with its initial plan.
Tom Holland was supposed to return earlier with a Spider-Man appearance in Madame Web
According to veteran industry insider Daniel Richtman, Tom Holland was supposed to appear in 2024's Madame Web at one point in time. The original plot would have reportedly featured the Spider-Women of the film saving baby Peter Parker. One might assume that this version of baby Peter Parker would have grown up to be the Tom Holland version of the character.
But here's where things get interesting: Madame Web might be a Marvel Comics character but the 2024 movie is not produced by Marvel Studios. Sony own the rights to the Spider-Man "web" of characters and its ill-fated Spider-Verse (centred on Spider-Man villains and supporting characters) is not well-regarded. It's also not a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so explaining to the general viewer as to how Tom Holland's Spider-Man ended up in this movie without travelling there as a teenager / adult from the MCU would be difficult... especially since we wouldn't even know the answer.
This also comes as cancelled popcorn buckets for Madame Web have surfaced online, showcasing some unlikely and unexpected connections to the events that took place in the MCU (including references to Thanos, Drax the Destroyer and Doctor Octopus), leading us all to assume that the movie was supposed to take place in the MCU at one point in time. But, for whatever reason, those plans eventually changed.
If this had panned out, it wouldn't be the first time that an MCU character appeared in the Sony Spider-Verse, but believe us when we say that this is not a good thing. Morbius notoriously featured Michael Keaton reprising his Spider-Man: Homecoming role as Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. the Vulture, in what was undoubtedly one of the most baffling cameos in any movie ever. Even Keaton himself had no idea what was going on and, to this day, it hasn't been explained how the Vulture of all people travelled across the multiverse to Morbius' world.
But Holland himself is somewhat familiar with the Sony Spider-Verse too, for he made a cameo appearance in the post-credits scene of 2021's Venom: Let There Be Carnage via TV footage. It was all part of the build for Spider-Man: No Way Home and could easily be explained away by the fact that Venom was indeed transported to the MCU for a moment. Thus, the version of Tom Holland's Spider-Man we saw in that brief moment of footage was actually the MCU's Peter Parker.
The version that would have appeared in that alternate draft of Madame Web likely wouldn't have been, leaving us all wondering what story would have been told here and what - if any - ramifications that a Spider-Man variant who looked exactly like the MCU's version would have had on the MCU itself.
Holland's webslinger is also going through his own struggles at the moment. His most recent appearance in No Way Home saw him make a plan with Doctor Strange to remove Peter Parker from existence, resulting in everyone who cares about him completely forgetting that he exists. They all know about Spider-Man, which he continues to be, but they don't remember Peter and their relationships with him.
That will no doubt be one of the biggest arcs as we head into next year's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which will officially bring him back to the big screen - and the MCU - as the Multiverse Saga sets the stage for Avengers: Doomsday. It's unclear if the wall-crawler will have a role in that one (Holland wasn't officially announced as a cast member but a cameo is rumored) but it's incredibly likely that he will be involved in 2027 sequel Avengers: Secret Wars.