Andrew Garfield hasn't congratulated Tom Holland for the success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but the omission is less dramatic than it sounds. Garfield simply has not watched the film yet, and he would rather see Holland's performance before sending the sort of message usually drafted by a publicity department.
“I don't want to be disingenuous,” Garfield told Variety. “A movie making money and people going to see it is an incredible thing, but I will reach out to him once I've seen Brand New Day, which I'm very excited to see.”
He has also yet to watch Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, Holland's other substantial release of the summer. Garfield said he plans to message his former co-star after seeing the work itself, rather than congratulating him solely because an impressive quantity of money has appeared on a spreadsheet.
How successful were Tom Holland's two films?
Holland has had an unusually dominant summer even by established movie-star standards. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, his latest solo outing as Peter Parker, has earned approximately $2.34 billion worldwide, according to The Numbers.
The original report called it the third-highest-grossing film ever, but the Associated Press placed it fourth worldwide when its total stood at $2.33 billion on August 30. Either position qualifies as fairly adequate attendance.
Meanwhile, The Odyssey has made about $1.56 billion worldwide. Holland plays Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, who protects his mother from potential suitors while his father attempts to return home after the Trojan War.
Together, the two releases have generated roughly $3.9 billion at the global box office. One is a superhero sequel and the other an R-rated historical epic, giving Holland simultaneous control of two very different corners of the cinema market.
Garfield's decision to wait therefore is not a dismissal of the achievement. He specifically praised the significance of audiences turning up, but wants his eventual message to concern Holland's acting rather than ticket sales alone.
Why nobody fully trusts Garfield's Marvel denial
Garfield also addressed speculation that he could return as Peter Parker in Avengers: Doomsday. His answer was direct, at least grammatically.
“I'm not in Doomsday,” he said. “You'll find out, I suppose, one way or another.”
The scepticism surrounding that denial has an obvious source. Before Spider-Man: No Way Home arrived in 2021, Garfield repeatedly rejected reports that he would appear. He ultimately joined Holland and Tobey Maguire in the film, uniting three live-action versions of Spider-Man against villains pulled from their respective universes.
That history means every new denial now comes with an unofficial asterisk. Marvel's secrecy did its job so effectively that a plain answer from Garfield is no longer allowed to remain plain.
Disney's official cast list for Avengers: Doomsday does not include him, and no report since his interview has confirmed his involvement. The film, scheduled for December 18, 2026, will bring together heroes from three universes. Its announced cast includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, several established Marvel Cinematic Universe Avengers, the Fantastic Four and actors returning from Fox's X-Men films.
There is therefore room for another multiverse cameo, but no evidence that Garfield has signed up for one.
What is Andrew Garfield promoting instead?
Garfield is currently discussing The Uprising, directed by Paul Greengrass. Although the story has been described as a possible Robin Hood origin, Greengrass offered a more precise account to NPR: it follows a farmer bereaved by plague who helps lead the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, an event that later influenced the Robin Hood legend.
The project also carries personal weight for Garfield. Speaking to E! News, he connected the film with his continuing grief following his mother's death. He described it as a way to express “pain, a woundedness, a grief,” alongside a desire for “a more just world.”
That discussion presents a sharper contrast with the familiar Marvel questioning. On one side, Garfield is speaking openly about bereavement, inequality and rebellion. On the other, he is once again being asked whether a superhero studio has hidden him somewhere in an extremely expensive cast list.
For now, his position remains straightforward: he will contact Holland after watching Brand New Day and The Odyssey, and he says he is not in Avengers: Doomsday. The first claim requires finding several free hours. The second will remain under investigation by fans until the credits finish rolling.
