Just a month ago, the behind-the-scenes war between Disney and Sony had shut the door on any future MCU Spider-Man films. Despite rumors that secret negotiations were still ongoing, both sides came out with statements that the Spider-Man deal was dead as a doornail. Then, a little less than a week ago, there was the surprise announcement that a new deal had been reached between Disney and Sony, and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man would return for one more solo MCU film, and one other appearance for another Marvel Studios film.

And it appears we have none other than Tom Holland himself to thank for this turn of events.

Sony Pictures

According to a story appearing in The Hollywood Reporter, it was Holland himself who worked tirelessly to convince both Sony’s Tom Rothman and Disney’s Bob Iger to come back to the table. After his appearance on stage at the D23 Expo, in which Holland told his fans “I love you 3000,” a #SaveSpiderMan hashtag began appearing all over social media. This is just speculation, but we imagine that the 23 year old Holland spends a lot more time on social media than either Iger or Rothman, and could see how badly the fans wanted this situation fixed. After a series of appeals to both men, they struck the deal, and saving Spidey in the MCU. At least for the next few years.

Sony Pictures

So what can we expect from the next two Spider-Man MCU films? Some are suggesting that the third film will find a way to shuffle Peter Parker out of the MCU Earth and into a separate reality. But that doesn’t make sense, as Marvel Studios still has him on for one more movie. Which we would bet money is an Avengers film of some kind. My feeling is the third film will deal with the fallout of the cliffhanger ending of Spider-Man: Far From Home, and bring Peter’s high school journey to a resolution. But there won’t be anything that definitively shuts him out of the MCU. That seems far too short sighted and definitive.

Marvel Comics

So who will the villain be? So far, MCU Spidey has been focusing on bad guys that haven’t been done yet in previous films in the Spidey canon. Hence, we got the Vulture and Mysterio. But there is one major Spidey villain who has not had any cinematic incarnation yet, and that is Kraven the Hunter. Although there were rumors of a solo Kraven movie, we think he is far more likely to appear in a third Spider-Man instead. He could hunt the newly outed and “criminal” Spidey for sport (and money).

Sony Pictures

But we also think Tom Holland’s appeal included one more thing…Into the Spider-Verse 2. After being awesome and winning the Oscar, why wouldn’t Tom Holland want to be a part of that? Rumors suggest Marvel Studios prevented him from being a part of it before, even in cameo form. He might have made it part of his contract to appear in that film as well. Or, maybe we just hope it’s true. Regardless of what happens, whatever cool Peter Parker stuff we get on the big screen in the next few years, it sounds like it’s because Tom Holland helped make it happen. And for that, he is our hero.

Featured Image: Marvel Studios