October 05, 2019
While Spider-Man's brief exit from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) may have wreaked havoc amongst fans, it looks like the most-affected from the news was the lead star Tom Holland himself who's emotional phone call led to the superhero's return.
The Mouse House CEO Bob Iger, during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel Live, dished the details of how Tom Holland got emotional after reaching out to him following the D23 summit.
“We had an event called D23, and Tom was there because he’s a voice in [Pixar’s Onward]. He said something on stage, and it was clear that fans wanted Tom back as Spider-Man, made by Marvel and our Marvel production team,” he said.
“And after D23, Tom reached out to folks who work for me and said, ‘Can I please have Bob’s e-mail address or phone number?’ Of course, I’m very protected, so they were very careful. I said ‘Sure, have him contact me,’ and he did,” he added.
"We spoke. And he basically made a — he cried on the phone, no, not really. But it was clear that he cared so much. And actually, we care about him,” he went on to say.
“I felt for him, and it was clear that the fans wanted this to happen. So after I got off the phone with him, I made a couple of phone calls to our team at Disney Studios, and then I decided to call the head of Sony, and I said ‘We have to figure out a way to get this done, for Tom and for the fans.’ And we did. That’s how it happened... Sometimes, when companies are negotiating with each other, they kinda forget that there are other folks out there," he continued.