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Spider-Man actor Tom Holland has revealed that he had to “stop doing press” to avoid ruining another major MCU announcement earlier this year, when Robert Downey Jr was unveiled as Doctor Doom.
The former Iron Man actor, who left the franchise in 2019 following the events of Avengers: Endgame, was announced in July as the man who will be playing major Marvel villain Doctor Doom in new film, Avengers: Doomsday.
Holland, who has played Spider-Man since 2016, has a reputation for spoiling huge moments in Marvel movies before they have been released, which has resulted in him receiving criticism from fans.
Now, speaking on the Rich Poll podcast, 28-year-old Holland said that he knew Downey Jr was returning to the MCU but it was a “tough secret to sit on”.
The Uncharted actor said: “I’ve been speaking to [Robert Downey Jr.] a lot, especially about him making his [Marvel] return, which is super exciting.”
He added: “That was a tough secret to sit on because I have a reputation for ruining things and I strategically have done no press.”
While specific details were not confirmed about the appearance, the film’s directing duo, the Russo brothers, said the actor’s cast was made possible due to the multiverse – a series of different worlds featuring characters old and new, which makes unlimited possibilities available.
This suggests that Downey Jr will be playing a villainous variant of Tony Stark/Iron Man. It’s believed this idea was thought up after the axing of Jonathan Majors from the MCU; his character Kang the Destroyer was originally meant to be the primary villain in a forthcoming Avengers film.
Elsewhere on the podcast Holland said that he and Zendaya had seen a proposed script for Spider-Man 4, but says it “needs work”.
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Holland said: “One of the things is that, with Marvel, your film is a small cog in a large machine. That machine has got to keep running. You have to make sure you can fit into that timeline at the right time to benefit the bigger picture. That’s one of the challenges we’re facing.
“The time in which we need to get that done is a tall order but definitely achievable with the people we have working on it now.
“We have a creative and we have a pitch and a draft, which is excellent. It needs work, but the writers are doing a great job.”
Holland continued: “I read it three weeks ago and it really lit a fire in me. Zendaya and I sat down and read it together and we at times were bouncing around the living room, like, this is a real movie worthy of the fans’ respect.”
