Tom Holland has appeared as the MCU’s Spider-Man for several films. But initially his role was supposed to be much smaller – until Robert Downey Jr. stepped in and stood up for Holland.
Tom Holland made his first appearance as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War. Since then he has appeared in the Avengers films, as well as three solo films. Apart from that, the actor starred in other big films like Uncharted and Venom. There was also a sci-fi film that turned out to be a flop.
Although Holland had already appeared on the big screen before Civil War, the Marvel film certainly gave his career a real boost. Initially, Spider-Man was supposed to play a much smaller role in the film. It was Robert Downey Jr. who stood up for Tom Holland.
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There was almost no important scene
How did Holland fare? As usual, the actor had to audition before he got the coveted role as Spider-Man. His future on-screen girlfriend (and real-life partner), Zendaya, also had to go through this process.
During the casting, Tom Holland played a scene that took up eight pages in the script. He convinced the filmmakers and got the job. However, when it came time to film the scene on set, Holland discovered that his scene had become significantly shorter. Eight pages had become two.
On the Rich Roll Podcast, Holland said that it wasn’t just him who noticed this. Robert Downey Jr., who starred as Iron Man, also probably frowned. He knew the full scene and said:
Where have all the boy’s lines gone? Let’s shoot the whole audition thing. You can still shorten it, but you’ll want it.
Robert Downey Jr. via Rich Roll Podcast
Since Downey Jr. has some power in the Marvel cosmos and probably also has the power of persuasion, he was able to change the directors’ minds. The scene was implemented as originally intended and used in the final cut. So Robert Downey Jr. was right.
Why was the scene important? It was the first appearance of Peter Parker and laid the foundation for the further development of this character in the MCU.
In the short version it would not have been clear who this character actually was in Tom Holland’s version. Whether audiences would have been able to connect with Spider-Man is questionable. Likewise, whether there would have been further solo films with a pale character.
Fans quickly took to Tom Holland as the new Spider-Man. The actor himself is very grateful to his friend Robert Downey Jr. today. He also has the MCU to thank for the fact that his career looks like this today: Iron Man saved Robert Downey Jr.’s career – but actually someone else should have gotten the role