The Russo brothers detail "fight" with Sony to cast Tom Holland as MCU's Spider-Man

Tom Holland debuted as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with Captain America: Civil War in 2016. The Intellectual Property (IP) rights of the character were only with Sony at that time. Now, director duo Anthony and Joe Russo explained how they cast Holland in the role and clashed with the company to bring the character to the MCU.

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The Russo Brothers Had to “Fight” with Sony to Cast Tom Holland as Spider-Man

In a recent interview with GQ, Joe Russo said that it was a "unique experience" casting Spider-Man then because they were working with Sony. He couldn't think of another time in movie history where two studios shared an asset as valuable as Spider-Man. So, this made it a little bit of a "complicated process" from a casting standpoint.

Joe mentioned that Tom Holland auditioned for the role and veteran Marvel Studios casting director, Sarah Finn, told the Russo brothers that he was the guy and they were going to love him. Joe noted that Finn should get “all the credits” for casting Holland as Spider-Man. He mentioned that the actor came in and did the test. They then called Sarah Finn straight away and told her that they found him incredible, as he had the charisma and the range required to play the character. The filmmaker asserted that it is "very rare" someone walks into a room who has all the elements that make up a bona fide star. Tom Holland had that thing, he claimed.

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Joe Russo recalled that they talked with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige about Tom Holland and he got excited and then they went to Sony. The Russo brothers could tell they were "meeting resistance" from Sony. So they brought Holland back again and again and they were "relentless" in their pursuit of "jamming him down the throat" of the studio that owned this IP. 

Joe Russo said that they were coming into Civil War after the great success of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Hence, Sony had agreed to sign over the rights. But he explained that they were "reticent, nervous," about handing off something that could ultimately cost them "hundreds of millions" of dollars, if not billions of dollars down the line. He mentioned that it was the first time Spider-Man had ever been cast as an "actual teenager," which was very important for them. There was a "distinct nervousness" of casting a kid, he admitted. 

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In the end, Tom Holland's cameo as Spider-Man earned immense praises. He went on to appear in four more Marvel movies, including two solo projects. Holland became the first star to portray the character in five films. The actor will reprise the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, scheduled to release in theatres on Christmas 2021.