Tom Holland Knows Who The Next Spider-Man Should Be (And He's Perfect)
by Joe Roberts · /FilmWith the Marvel Cinematic Universe falling from grace and audiences tiring of superhero movies in general, we're almost certainly about to see a major shift in the cinematic landscape. Should Tom Holland's Spider-Man become a casualty of that shift, or when he inevitably becomes too old to play the role, Holland knows exactly who should replace him: "Adolescence" star Owen Cooper. The chilling Netflix limited series filmed in one take was one of the best shows of 2025, and a big part of that was down to Cooper's revelatory performance as 13-year-old schoolboy Jamie Miller. If Hollywood wasn't considering him as a potential Spidey replacement before, they definitely should after Holland's suggestion.
In an interview with Esquire, Holland — who's starring in the upcoming "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" — was asked who he thought might make a good successor. "Owen Cooper would be awesome," he said. "Obviously he's super-talented and the talk of the town right now." Indeed, Cooper shot to fame after his "Adolescence" performance, which earned him Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards. He was the youngest male actor to win in every one of those instances. Incredibly, "Adolescence" represented Cooper's screen debut.
The now 16-year-old (perfect Peter Parker-age, by the way) deserved every one of those awards, delivering a stunningly naturalistic performance in a show that required its stars to perform flawlessly throughout single takes. Not only did Cooper hold his own against established greats like his co-star Stephen Graham, he arguably stole the entire show with his portrayal of a troubled teen contaminated by the ideology of the so-called "manosphere." Of course, the Spider-Man story isn't quite the same, but Cooper has more than proved his worth when it comes to playing teenage outsiders.
Owen Cooper could give us a fresh take on Peter Parker
It might be time for superhero movies to take a nice long break, but ever since Tobey Maguire suited up for Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" in 2002, the web-slinger has proved to be a reliably popular box office draw. Now, after three Spider-Man movies, two Avengers films, and a brief appearance in "Captain America: Civil War," Tom Holland is gearing up for his fourth outing as ol' webhead in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." After that? Your guess is as good as ours, but the now 30-year-old will surely be hanging up the spandex soon.
That means we'll likely see a new Spidey in the near future, and Cooper is an inspired pick. Since "Adolescence," the British star has played young Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell's "Wuthering Heights" and will soon appear alongside Nicholas Hoult in Tom Ford's adaptation of Anne Rice's 1982 novel "Cry to Heaven." But much bigger roles are almost certainly on the horizon for the young star, who has already expressed interest in playing the wall-crawler.
Interestingly enough, Cooper previously cited Holland's performance in 2012's "The Impossible" as inspiring him to pursue acting in the first place. The actor even told I-D, post- "Adolescence," "I want to play Spider-Man." If nothing else, then, Holland passing the torch to Cooper would be a nice full-circle moment for the latter. More than that, though, Cooper feels like he could bring a grounded, naturalistic aspect to Peter Parker. Marc Webb's "The Amazing Spider-Man" had a certain indie drama element to it that was somewhat undercut by Andrew Garfield's effortlessly charismatic lead performance. Cooper could really bring us into Peter's feelings of isolation and angst in a way that no actor has before. Marvel might as well cast him now.