Tom Holland's role in Avengers: Secret Wars might not be that major after all - thanks to the long-awaited Fred Astaire biopic

Tom Holland might have the busiest years of his life ahead. The Spider-Man actor had a spectacular summer this year with not just one but two movies that grossed a billion dollars: The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. With those two movies out of the way, we expect Holland to appear in two projects, one of them being his Marvel commitment, Avengers: Secret Wars.

The other is the Fred Astaire biopic, which has been in development for a while. The biopic headlined by Holland is expected to start filming in 2027, and this is where the rumor about his involvement in Secret Wars factors in. The new rumor suggests that Avengers: Secret Wars would start filming in January 2027, around the same time as the Fred Astaire biopic.

The latest Tom Holland Avengers: Secret Wars rumor explained:

Before the "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" fan event - Source: Getty

Internet scooper Apocalyptic Horseman posted on their X account that Marvel has delayed the filming for Avengers: Secret Wars to January 2027. They posted about this delay in response to another scooper, @DanielRPK, saying that the filming for Secret Wars has been delayed to this November. As of now, Marvel has not confirmed anything about the filming of Secret Wars.

If this delay were real, it would clash with the filming schedule for the Fred Astaire biopic, which is also set to star Tom Holland as the iconic dancer and actor. When a fan asked the scooper if the British actor is not in Secret Wars, Apocalyptic Horseman responded:

"He’s in this. They’re working around both schedules. But honestly, he’s probably only going to shoot for a little bit, so I doubt it’ll be an issue."

This revelation has fans drawing a parallel between Tom Holland swinging between the sets of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey. Some rumors have suggested that while Holland was in costume on the set of Brand New Day for most of it, some scenes just used a stunt double when the actor was filming The Odyssey.

A reddit response | Image Via: Reddit/r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers

Another fan expressed hope that Holland was on set while filming the scenes with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. This fan believes that Maguire and Garfield will appear in Avengers: Secret Wars, even if their involvement hasn't been confirmed:

The Spider-Verse theory | Image Via: Reddit/r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers

Another fan compared this situation to that of Pedro Pascal's during the filming of The Last of Us Season 1 and The Mandalorian Season 3.

Do we know anything about Holland's future in the MCU?

Tom Holland as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Image Via: YouTube/Spider-Man

The Spider-Man: Brand New Day post-credit scene does confirm that the wall crawler will appear in the MCU going forward. However, the post-credit scene doesn't mention whether Holland's version will appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. However, it will not be surprising if the actor appears in the next two Avengers movies.

Holland even revealed that he does have an idea to pass on the "Spider-Man" mantle to another character in an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast:

“There’s a whole plan that we have been working on for, I would say, since we finished Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s laid out. It’s gonna change for sure, but I have a really clear vision for the passing on of the baton, and I think it’s really exciting.”

He further added:

“I know I get really excited when we have these meetings and chat about it. But that is the thing I want to do most in this character, for sure.”

Thus, it will be a while before Tom Holland's Spider-Man spins his last web on the big screen.

What does the delay of Avengers: Secret Wars mean?

Marvel Studios Panel At SDCC - Source: Getty

Tom Holland's conflicting filming schedule is just one small impact as a result of the rumored filming delay. If Avengers: Secret Wars is indeed delayed, it would be moved from its December 2027 release date to somewhere in 2028. This release date move could also cause Marvel to move the release dates for Black Panther 3 and X-Men as well.