Tom Holland was drunk during call with Disney boss that kept Spider-Man in the MCU
The Avengers: Endgame star revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live that he had been playing a pub quiz when he took the call that saved Spider-man's cinematic future
Tom Holland has told the story of his phone call with Disney head Bob Iger that put Spider-Man back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, revealing he had been drunk at the time, and midway through a pub quiz.
The Avengers: Endgame star gave the details in an interview on American talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live, although he admitted that "I wouldn't say it was entirely my doing".
Marvel fans around the world had reacted in dismay when news emerged earlier this year that Sony, who own the rights to the character, had been unable to reach an agreement with Hollywood behemoth Marvel Studios to let the character feature in their serialised franchise films (known as the MCU).
Spider-Man has appeared in several MCU films in recent years, including Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as his own Spidey-centric offerings, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far from Home.
After a deal was reached recently, however, the character looks set to be included in future franchise entries - a development welcomed by millions of superhero fans across the globe. Bob Iger, Disney's CEO, had previously said that Holland was instrumental in brokering this new arrangement. Holland provided Kimmel with the unlikely details.
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"We were at D23, which is the big Disney convention," he said. "The news had come out, and I was honestly devastated. I was really upset."
"I asked if I could get Bob's email, because I just wanted to say 'thank you'. I just wanted to say, 'This has been an amazing 5 years of my life. Thank you for changing my life in the best way, and I hope that we can work together in the future.'"
But Iger then responded to his email, trying to arrange a time to speak over the phone.
"So 2, 3 days go by, and my family and I go to the pub quiz in our local town," he continued. "I'm 3 pints in, haven't eaten much, and I get a phone call from an unknown number. And I have a feeling like, I think this is Bob Iger. But I'm drunk..."
Holland laughed off the idea that he had wept over the phone, but admitted: "I was really emotional, because I felt like it was all coming to an end."
"We had a really good plan with what we were gonna do with Sony. The future of Spider-man was still very bright, but it would have been a shame to take him out of the MCU. That's where he belongs, and we've built such a strong character in that world, and it would have been a shame to lose that."
You can watch the full interview below....
