Tom Holland Says Superhero Films Should Represent More Than “A Straight White Guy.”

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Photo Eamonn M. McCormack / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

The question was whether Marvel could ever give us a gay Spider-Man. He was 23 when he answered, and he didn’t hedge.

A reporter in 2019 asked Tom Holland whether Marvel could ever introduce a gay Spider-Man. He didn’t dodge it.

“The world isn’t as simple as a straight white guy. It doesn’t end there, and these films need to represent more than one type of person,” he said.

Tom Holland at The Odyssey photocall at the IET Building in London
Tom Holland steps out for The Odyssey photocall at London’s IET Building on July 5, 2026. Photo by Shane Anthony Sinclair / Getty Images.

Seven years on, he’s still carrying the franchise into “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” and this month he’s been on a nonstop run of premieres for both that film and Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”

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Nadia Santiago

Nadia Santiago is a writer who lives between the clouds and the coastline, and writes about all the things your heart knows but your mouth can never quite say.