Tom Holland has spent a good chunk of his career playing one of the most recognizable movie characters on the planet, but apparently Spider-Man was not enough. Years ago, the British actor marched into Sony chairman Tom Rothman’s office and pitched himself as James Bond. I knew he had once floated a young 007 movie, but I had never heard the full idea. Now that I have, I completely understand why somebody politely showed it the door.
Tom Holland's basic idea was actually kind of clever: he would play a young SAS recruit on a dangerous mission, and audiences would not learn his real identity until the end. Surprise, you have been watching James Bond the whole time. As he explained it during a BBC Radio 1 interview:
I actually went to Tom Rothman and pitched him an idea for an origin story for James Bond. Which is essentially the idea was that you would meet this kid in the SAS. He exceeds in every category, does really well, goes on this mission, and at the end of the mission is assigned the status of 007, which is, in turn, James Bond.
I can already hear a studio marketing department screaming. The Avengers staple said his character would eventually be recruited into MI6, earn double-O status, and finally be revealed as James Bond. The Spider-Man actor still maintains it was a good pitch, but he also identified the fairly obvious problem himself:
But obviously, from a marketing point of view, you can’t make a James Bond film and then reveal at the end of the film that he’s James Bond. It doesn’t make sense. No one’s ever going to do that.
Keeping Bond’s identity secret would indeed create a marketing nightmare, but I’m not gonna lie, I would have kind of loved to have seen this. But Holland’s assessment feels dead-on. You either put 007 all over the posters and destroy your twist six months before opening night, or advertise a movie about some random young SAS guy and hope audiences discover they secretly bought tickets to a Bond film. Neither sounds like a particularly good plan when hundreds of millions of dollars are involved.
The failed pitch did have one pretty significant consolation prize. Holland’s desire to make a young Bond adventure helped Sony realize it could take a similar origin-story approach to Nathan Drake. That conversation eventually contributed to him starring in the 2022 video game-to-film adaptation of Uncharted, which introduced a younger version of the video game treasure hunter rather than directly adapting the older Drake players already knew.
A young Bond origin story no longer sounds nearly as bizarre. The official 007 franchise launched 007 First Light this year, a video game centered on a 26-year-old Bond as he enters MI6 and works his way toward becoming the agent audiences know. Pretty much the Odyssey actor’s exact movie pitch. But the “Bond before Bond” part wasn't missing in the video game's marketing. So, clearly the idea wasn't entirely crazy. And who knows, maybeThe Devil All the Time actor might even still get his shot at 007 the old-fashioned way.
He was recently asked about playing James Bond and made it clear he would hardly turn down the opportunity. The complication is Amy Pascal, who has helped shepherd his Spider-Man career and is now producing the next Bond movie alongside David Heyman. Holland said he does not want to overstep that professional relationship by openly campaigning for the tuxedo.
The next 007 movie already has Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve directing and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight writing. At the same time, Amazon MGM confirmed this spring that the search for Daniel Craig’s successor is underway. So Holland’s first Bond plan may have died because nobody could advertise the thing without ruining it. Maybe Pitch No. 2 should just be: “I play James Bond.” That’s a much easier poster to sell.
Holland can be seen (unfortunately, not as 007) on the 2026 movie calendar in two major summer flicks: Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. Be sure to check your local listings for showtimes.
