This week, Spider-Man fans were thrilled when Tom Holland revealed that he and Zendaya had read an early draft of the script for the eagerly awaited fourth movie.

During an appearance on Thursday’s episode of The Rich Roll Podcast, the 28-year-old British star, who has been playing the web-slinging hero since 2017, made the major revelation.

Fans of Spider-Man were thrilled this week when Tom Holland revealed that he and Zendaya have read an early draft of the script for the much awaited fourth movie, which is scheduled for release in 2021.

The script is ‘great,’ according to Holland and Zendaya, but ‘it needs work.’

He teased, “But the writers are doing a great job.”

With Marvel Studios releasing up to three movies annually, integrating Spider-Man 4 into the constantly growing Marvel Cinematic Universe is the most obstacle.

‘One of the things is that, with Marvel, your film is a small cog in a large machine,’ Holland explained.

‘That machine has got to keep running. You have to make sure you can fit into that timeline at the right time to benefit the bigger picture.

‘That’s one of the challenges we’re facing. The time in which we need to get that done is a tall order but definitely achievable with the people we have working on it now.

‘We have a creative and we have a pitch and a draft, which is excellent,’ Holland told the host. ‘It needs work, but the writers are doing a great job.’

He then revealed that he and his co-star-turned-girlfriend Zendaya got their hands on an early draft of the script last month.

‘I read it three weeks ago and it really lit a fire in me,’ Holland said.

‘Zendaya and I sat down and read it together and we at times were bouncing around the living room like this is a real movie worthy of the fans’ respect.’

During his podcast appearance, he did not provide any narrative details regarding the movie.

In the movies Homecoming (2017), Far From Home (2019), and No Way Home (2021), Holland played Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

In addition, he portrayed the Marvel character in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Captain America: Civil War.

Prior to Holland, the masked crusader was portrayed on the big screen by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.

Holland has portrayed Peter Parker/Spider-Man in three films: Homecoming (2017), Far From Home (2019) and No Way Home (2021); Zendaya and Holland seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home

Although the script is ‘excellent,’ Holland admitted that ‘it needs work’; seen in January 2024

Meanwhile, Zendaya has starred in all three films with Holland as Peter Parker’s classmate-turned-girlfriend Michelle ‘MJ’ Jones-Watson.

In April 2024, Holland confirmed he would be returning for a fourth Spider-Man film.

‘The simple answer is that I’ll always want to do Spider-Man films,’ he told reporters at the Sands International Film Festival in St. Andrews, Scotland.

‘I owe my life and career to Spider-Man. So the simple answer is yes. I’ll always want to do more.’

‘We have the best in the business working toward whatever the story might be. But until we’ve cracked it, we have a legacy to protect. The third movie was so special in so many ways that we need to make sure we do the right thing.

‘This is the first time in this process that I’ve been part of the creative so early. It’s just a process where I’m watching and learning. It’s just a really fun stage for me. Like I said, everyone wants it to happen.

‘But we want to make sure we’re not overdoing the same things,’ he added.

2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home ended on a dramatic cliffhanger as Doctor Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) cast a spell that erased the world’s memory of Peter Parker, including that of his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya).

A fourth Spider-Man film was first confirmed by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige in 2023.

Although he and Zendaya think the script is ‘excellent,’ Holland admitted that ‘it needs work; Zendaya and Tom seen in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

He dished to Entertainment Weekly that a ‘story’ had been written.

‘All I will say is that we have the story. We have big ideas for that, and our writers are just putting pen to paper now,’ he teased.

However, development was stalled in May 2023 due to the Writers Guild Of America (WGA) strike, which lasted 148 days.

Months after the strike ended, Holland worried Spider-Man fans when he told the Critics Choice Association that he’d only return for a fourth film if they could do the character ‘justice.’

‘All I can say is that we have been actively engaging in conversations about what it could potentially look like for a fourth rendition of my character,’ he revealed at the time.

‘Whether or not we can find a way to do justice to the character is another thing.’

The Spider-Man trilogy starring Holland was helmed by director Jon Watts.

But director Destin Daniel Cretton — known for Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) has been in ‘talks’ to takeover the franchise, as confirmed by Variety in September.

Holland and Zendaya fell in love while making the Spider-Man franchise.

‘Zendaya and I sat down and read it together and we at times were bouncing around the living room like this is a real movie worthy of the fans’ respect,’ he recalled; Tom seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

While working on the Spider-Man franchise, Holland and Zendaya fell in love. They first met on site in 2016, then five years later, in 2021, they were spotted kissing in public, confirming their romance. They first met on site in 2016, then five years later, in 2021, they were spotted kissing in public, confirming their romance.

The well-liked Hollywood pair has been living together ever since, and in recent years, there have been reports that they are getting engaged. Zendaya most recently helped Holland by going to multiple West End versions of his stage play Romeo & Juliet.