Robert Downey Jr. helped save Tom Holland’s MCU debut as Spider-Man: “Where did all of the kid’s lines go?”

Tom Holland’s first scene in the MCU was initially substantially cut down – but his co-star and scene partner Robert Downey Jr. fought to save it.

“When I got to set after I got the gig, my scene had been cut down significantly from what I did in the audition. It was now maybe two pages,” Holland told the Rich Roll podcast, explaining that he’d read eight pages of dialogue in his audition. “Downey piped up: ‘Where did all of the kid’s lines go?'”

The pair appeared on screen together in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, directed by the Russo Brothers. Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark recruits Holland’s Peter Parker to his side during his conflict with Captain America (Chris Evans). 

“Downey was the one who said, ‘No, you’re going to want to spend time on this. Let’s shoot the whole thing from the audition. You can always cut it, but you’re going to want to have it,'” he continued. “And they used all of it. I owe that to him. That’s really cool. I’d love to one day do that… If I’m lucky to bring Miles Morales into the MCU, I’d love to do for a young kid what Downey did for me.”

Holland went on to lead 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, before appearing in two more Spidey movies and two Avengers movies. A fourth Spider-Man movie is currently in the works with Holland back as Peter Parker and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings helmer Destin Daniel Cretton in early talks to direct. 

Meanwhile, Downey Jr. and the Russos will reunite for the next Avengers movie, Avengers: Doomsday. Downey Jr. will take on a new role in the franchise as Doctor Doom – but just exactly how that will play out remains to be seen.

Avengers: Doomsday is set to hit the big screen on May 1, 2026, as part of Marvel Phase 6. In the meantime, get up to speed with all the other upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows still to come.