Tom Holland names Owen Cooper as Spider-Man successor

As Tom Holland and Zendaya kick off the Madrid press tour for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” the actor is already talking about the next Spider-Man—naming Owen Cooper as someone who could replace him and describing the careful handoff he wants to make possible.

Tom Holland stepped onto the red carpet in Madrid with Zendaya to kick off the press tour for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” and the conversation quickly drifted from the movie to what comes after him.

In a new Esquire profile published June 16, Holland—30 years old—spent time thinking through his own Marvel succession plan. When asked about who could replace him as Spider-Man someday, he didn’t just hint at a generic “next actor.” He pointed to one specific name.

“Owen Cooper would be awesome. Obviously he’s super-talented and the talk of the town right now,” Holland said. He also floated the possibility of casting a fresh face, but Cooper was the first name out of his mouth.

Cooper, 16, has built momentum quickly. He broke out in 2025 with his role as a 13-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of murder in the acclaimed Netflix miniseries “Adolescence.” For that performance. Cooper won the Emmy for best supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie. He became the youngest person to do so, and he was also the youngest nominee in the category ever. “Adolescence” was described as Cooper’s first professional acting role. and he later appeared as a young Heathcliff in 2026’s “Wuthering Heights.”.

Holland isn’t the only one who has raised Cooper’s name. The actor said he knows fans have been thinking about it for a while—Cooper has been a heavy favorite among Marvel fans since “Adolescence” first came out. Cooper has also expressed interest in the role. and he has said he doesn’t want to succeed Holland anytime soon.

“I’d like to do it. but not for a good long time. like 10-15 years. ” Cooper said in a 2025 interview with Variety. adding: “But that’s only when Tom Holland backs off.” On “The Tonight Show. ” Cooper also said playing Spider-Man was a “dream of mine since I was a kid. ” while stressing he isn’t “expecting” it to happen.

That tension—between fandom momentum and timing—threads through Holland’s own comments as he begins the promotional push for a film that is. for now. still firmly about him. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is described as marking his first appearance as Peter Parker since 2021. There has been no indication that the new movie will be Holland’s last time playing the character.

Holland has long discussed wanting to pass the role along eventually. and he has framed it as something he wants to do smoothly. He compared it to the way Robert Downey Jr. helped set the stage for him as Spider-Man. As Iron Man. Downey introduced Holland’s Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe beginning in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War. ” before departing the franchise in 2019—only to later return as Doctor Doom in the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday.”.

“If I could do what Downey did for me, then I would be so content swinging off into the sunset,” Holland told Empire. Before that, he said he’d like to be part of building the next chapter regardless of who steps in.

“For whoever’s next, whether that is a Miles Morales or a Spider-Gwen or a Spider-Woman or something like that, I would love to be a part of setting up the next chapter,” Holland said. “Whatever that looks like, I don’t know.”

He also talked about the scale of what he’s reaching in this run: with “Spider-Man: Brand New Day. ” Holland will become the first live-action Spider-Man actor to star in four solo movies. The earlier live-action handoffs came with different timelines. Tobey Maguire led three “Spider-Man” films before Andrew Garfield replaced him in the role in 2012. and Garfield only got two movies before Holland took over. Holland was just 19 when his Spider-Man casting was announced in June 2015.

The push-and-pull between “exit” talk and “wait” talk has shown up in Holland’s history with the role. In 2021. ahead of the release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home. ” Holland told GQ he was looking to exit the role sooner rather than later. saying: “if I’m playing Spider-Man after I’m 30. I’ve done something wrong.” But in a more recent interview with GQ—after turning 30 this month—he walked the statement back.

“I think the point of it is that I would love to pass the baton on, and I haven’t achieved that yet,” Holland said. “It’s definitely something that we talk about a lot at the studio. So maybe I need to change the quote to 37.”

He also acknowledged that the earlier comment could have been a negotiation move rather than a straight promise.

“I could also have been trying to leverage Sony and scare them into thinking I wasn’t going to do Spider-Man 4 now that I had a new deal on the horizon,” Holland told GQ. “So I don’t know what it could have been. It could’ve been part of a strategy to create fear.”

Even as he promotes “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” Holland is clearly working backward from the day he steps away—talking up Owen Cooper, weighing the idea of a fresh face, and repeatedly returning to one theme: he wants whatever comes next to feel planned, not abrupt.

Tom Holland Owen Cooper Spider-Man: Brand New Day Spider-Man successor Zendaya Marvel Cinematic Universe Adolescence Emmy Sony Robert Downey Jr. Peter Parker