How Will Tom Holland Fit Into 'Civil War'?

Since Captain America: Civil War was announced, fans have been wanting Spider-Man to participate at the action. At the time of the announcement, though, the rights to the character still belonged exclusively to Sony Pictures, but a recent deal between Sony and Marvel has made the Avenging Spider-Man possible. On Tuesday, it was declared that Tom Holland will be the new Spider-Man, and he will not only star in a stand-alone series beginning in 2017, but will also be introduced to audiences Captain America: Civil War. Captain America directors Joe and Anthony Russo are said to have been present at Holland's screen test, indicating that Spidey in Civil War has been the plan all along. But how big a role will he play in this Captain America film?

Spider-Man is a crucial character in the Civil War comics from which the film is being adapted. In the books, the US Government introduces a Superhero Registration act, sparking a debate amongst the superheroes. Tony Stark is in favor of the registration act, his identity as Iron Man having been revealed all along. Captain America, however, is against registration, and the rest of the superheroes organize along these two camps. Spider-Man is conflicted in his view, initially on Team Iron Man but joining up with Captain America instead. As Bustle's Kadeen Griffiths explained earlier, "He is a relatable viewpoint through which both sides of the conflict can be properly explored simply through his changing beliefs on who is right and why they are right — so the fact that he couldn’t appear in Civil War left a huge hole in the story and in the hearts of many fans."

This film is officially a Captain America movie, rather than a superhero mashup like The Avengers. Since that means we'll focus on Cap's experience throughout this debate, the other heroes will be granted significantly less screen time. The comics explore the Civil War through Spider-Man's perspective, his changing opinion reflecting the changing opinions of the audience, but the film will be exploring the conflict through the lens of Captain America. With the other heroes more on the sidelines, it is likely that Spider-Man will be playing a small role. With less to do, and therefore less pressure, it is a perfect opportunity to introduce the audience to Holland. The collaborative film it is an opportunity for him to demonstrate his chops before he has the responsibility of carrying the film on his own in 2017.

It will, however, be difficult to know him when the stakes are so high in Civil War, and it is up in the air where it will begin in Spidey's chronology. Spidey has previously gone unmentioned in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the producers do assume that Marvel fans have seen the Sony films. Fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when Marvel Cinematic Universe Producer Kevin Feige said that Spider-Man in the MCU will not be another origin story. “In Spider-Man’s very specific case, where there have been two retellings of that origin in the last whatever it’s been — [13] years — for us we are going to take it for granted that people know that, and the specifics,” Feige said, "But, with great power comes great responsibility. It is inherent to who his character is. But we want to reveal it in different ways and spend much more time focusing on this young high school kid in the MCU dealing with his powers.”

We'll have to wait until May 6, 2016 to see how he deals with his powers, and how he deals with Iron Man and Captain America. However, Holland's casting proves that it will be worth the wait.

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