Tom Holland is treating Spider-Man: No Way Home as the end of a franchise

After bursting into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War, Tom Holland has gone on to play Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home. That’s an awful lot of Spidey and it’s not clear what the future will hold, but Tom Holland told Entertainment Weekly that he’s looking at No Way Home as the conclusion of the franchise.

We were all treating [No Way Home] as the end of a franchise, let’s say. I think if we were lucky enough to dive into these characters again, you’d be seeing a very different version. It would no longer be the Homecoming trilogy. We would give it some time and try to build something different and tonally change the films. Whether that happens or not, I don’t know. But we were definitely treating [No Way Home] like it was coming to an end, and it felt like it.

As Tom Holland mentioned, even if Spider-Man continues (and you can bet it will), whatever comes next will chart a new course away from the Homecoming trilogy. Holland added that the last days on set with Jacob Batalon and Zendaya were surprisingly emotional. “We’ve been making these films for five years now,” Holland explained. “We’ve had such an amazing relationship, the three of us. We’ve been with each other every step of the way. We’ve done every single film, every single press tour. So this one scene, [we didn’t know] if this would be the last time [we were all working together.] [It] was heartbreaking but also really exciting because we’re all moving into the next chapter of our careers. So sharing that moment with them was maybe the best day I’ve ever had on set. I don’t think I’ve cried like that ever.” 

Spider-Man: No Way Home will find Peter Parker (Holland) turning to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help when he’s unmasked and is no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a super hero. After some magical meddling, the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man. Holland said that the introduction of magic allowed them to get quite inventive, teasing that the fight scenes will be “a lot more visceral” with “a lot more hand-to-hand combat.” Spider-Man: No Way Home will hit theaters on December 17, 2021.