Tom Holland smiling in a dark double-breasted pinstripe suit with hands clasped, posed against a dark gold abstract backdrop.
Eamonn M. McCormack / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
TV + Movies

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

By

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.

Tom Holland at the world premiere of "The Odyssey" at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London
Tom Holland steps out at the London premiere of “The Odyssey” at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 6, 2026. Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack / Getty Images.

“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.”

For more from Thought Catalog, follow along on Facebook or visit our website anytime.

Related Articles

Read more TV + Movies.

About the author

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.