At last, Tom Holland’s passion project is up next after his next Spider-Man movie

Tom Holland is apparently not one for a quiet summer. While the rest of us have been sweating it out, he's been front and centre on two separate press tours: first for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, which hit cinemas 17 July, and now for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, landing 31 July. Naturally, everyone wants to know what's next — will there be another Spider-Man? But when Holland popped up on Good Morning America, he didn't bother teasing another run round Manhattan. Instead, he reminded everyone about a passion project that's been lurking in the background since the end of 2021: the Fred Astaire biopic Sony's been nursing for ages.

There's a sense now that this film is actually going to happen, not just exist in rumour form. It's got a director in Paul King (yep, the man behind Paddington 2 and Wonka). The script is by Steven Levenson—who did Fosse/Verdon and Dear Evan Hansen—and Amy Pascal, Holland's usual Spider-Man producer, is involved on Sony's side (all this from Deadline). According to Holland, as soon as he's finished flogging his current two films he’s off to dance rehearsal, which is surprisingly soon considering this project has spent years stuck in limbo.

The new Spider-Man film opens on 31 July.

All About the Dancing

Rehearsals have already kicked off, and by Holland's own admission, they're giving him a hard mix of 'excitement and absolute dread' — which sounds about right if your job now is living up to Fred Astaire. Holland's set himself a fairly mad standard: he's planning to do every dance number himself, no stunt doubles, no cheats, and they want to film the routines in proper long takes. That's not just actorly ambition — it's how Astaire demanded it done, refusing to let Hollywood cut his dancing to bits so audiences could see every step for real. Good luck to Holland's feet.

If anyone in Spider-Man world is actually up to it, it's probably him. Holland started ballet and tap back when he was about nine, and it's easy to forget his real breakthrough came as Billy Elliot in the West End from 2008 to 2010, long before Marvel got him flipping off buildings. That overlooked bit of his CV might finally prove handy.

Estate Drama and a Rival Film

Of course, there's a fairly large fly in the ointment. Fred Astaire died back in 1987, and in his will he specifically requested no one turn his life into drama, for fear of people getting it wrong. Last November, his widow Robyn Astaire fired off a letter to Amy Pascal basically saying she hadn't signed off on any film, quoting Fred's wish that his life not be depicted on screen, and warning of legal trouble if anyone said otherwise — TMZ got their hands on that one. Sony hasn't publicly responded or backed down, and the production insists it's covered because they've secured rights to a specific autobiography.

There’s been no sign this has been settled; if anything, Sony's just choosing to carry on. Their version of the story focuses on Astaire’s early years with his sister Adele, the duo’s journey from vaudeville in the Midwest to Broadway and then the West End, before Adele quit and Fred took on Hollywood. (If you’re into rivalries: Amazon is also prepping a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film, Fred & Ginger, with Jamie Bell—another Billy Elliot alum—and Margaret Qualley as Rogers.)

For now, Holland reckons the cameras will actually roll in January, or that's what he told GQ earlier this year. Don’t expect a release date, a supporting cast, or even a proper title just yet. He’s got about six months of tap dancing to get through, and one more trip round the Marvel merry-go-round, before the real nerves begin.