Tom Holland, like a lot of the other Marvel stars, tries to dabble in parts that are different from their superhero counterparts. After the gigantic response of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Holland would play a more intense and dark role in AppleTV+’s psychological drama, The Crowded Room. The role would take a toll on the actor and he proclaimed he would take a year off of acting. Holland stated, “I love the learning curve of becoming a producer. I’m no stranger to hard work. I’ve always sort of lived by this idea that hard work is good work. I really enjoyed it, but then again, the show did break me. There did come a time where I was sort of like, ‘I need to have a break.’ I disappeared. I went to Mexico for a week and had some time on a beach. And I’m now taking a year off, and that is a result of how difficult this show was.“
The Uncharted star will be returning to acting this May, but it won’t be on a screen. Instead, Timeout reports that Holland is set to star in a revival of Romeo & Juliet on London’s West End. Holland is no stranger to the stage as before he became Peter Parker, he was able to use his Spider-man moves for dancing when he starred as Billy Elliot in another West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical. This will be his first stage show since finding fame as the web-slinger. This will also be his first foray into Shakespeare.
This revival will be directed by Jamie Lloyd, who is a known boundary-pusher and “mixes populism and the avant-garde in a thrilling mix.” Lloyd recently found much success in his career after gaining a bevy of acclaim from his direction of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard last year. Timeout also says to “expect a stripped-back, confrontational modern dress take that aggressively drags the story into the present.” There is no word on Holland’s co-star or any other casting as of yet.
Meanwhile, on the Spider-man front, Marvel is currently in the hunt for a director to take up the vacated seat left by Jon Watts. Watts had previously helmed the last three movies. Bad Times at the El Royale director Drew Goddard is currently in talks to take on the next entry.
Romeo & Juliet is at the Duke of York’s Theatre, May 11 to August 3.