For years, fans have dreamed of seeing Tom Holland's Spider-Man go head-to-head with Tom Hardy's Venom. But despite both characters existing under the Sony umbrella—and even sharing a brief moment in Spider-Man: No Way Home—that epic meeting never materialized. Now, Holland is clearing the air about why.
During a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor revealed that Sony did have crossover plans in the works. But as with many ambitious ideas in Hollywood, timing and creative priorities ultimately got in the way.
No Battles Behind the Scenes
When host Josh Horowitz asked if Holland ever had to push back against appearing in Sony's other Marvel movies—like Venom, Morbius, or Madame Web—the actor was quick to dismiss any notion of studio conflict. “To be perfectly honest, Tom Rothman is a really smart guy,” Holland said, referring to Sony Pictures chairman. “They were building this universe and they had these plans to merge the worlds at some point, and I think that they just never found the right time to do so.”
He added: “I think it was on the cards, and there were never any battles of ‘We want you to be in this movie’ and ‘I don’t want to be in this movie’. That never happened.”
Instead, Sony was confident in the direction Holland, director Jon Watts, and Marvel Studios were taking with the character. Rather than forcing a crossover for the sake of it, the studio chose to let the MCU Spider-Man story continue on its own path. “I think they thought one day this will happen and, like lots of things in the creative world, it just never came to fruition,” Holland explained.
The Missed Venom Connection
The closest fans ever got to a Holland-Hardy showdown was in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which ended with Eddie Brock briefly transported into the MCU. But Spider-Man: No Way Home sent him back before the two could actually meet. Horowitz called that near-miss “the dream” for fans, and Holland played coy when asked about the future. “Who knows what the future holds for my Spider-Man? Anything can happen. Just wait and see.”
For now, Holland's focus is on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. The film picks up after the events of No Way Home, with Peter Parker navigating a world that has forgotten his identity. The cast includes Zendaya as MJ, Sadie Sink in a mysterious role, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Jon Bernthal as the Punisher, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando as Scorpion, and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner. Early screenings have reportedly drawn cheers from Feige and Pascal.
While the Venom crossover remains a tantalizing what-if, Holland's comments suggest that fans shouldn't give up hope entirely. With Brand New Day set to explore a darker tone and introduce new threats like the Punisher, the door may still be open for a symbiote encounter down the line. Sony's recent LEGO set for Venom shows the character's popularity isn't fading.
Until then, we'll have to settle for the multiverse crumbs we've already gotten—and keep wondering what could have been.
