Tom Holland thought there was 'no way' they could make multiple villains work in the next 'Spider-Man' movie

• Tom Holland spoke to Empire magazine about "Spider-Man: No Way Home" featuring multiple villains.
• Holland said that when he was first pitched the concept, he thought there was "no way" it would work.

Tom Holland said he was skeptical of whether or not the upcoming third "Spider-Man" film, "Spider-Man: No Way Home," could successfully incorporate multiple villains, but it somehow worked.

"When I was first pitched the idea, I was like, 'Wow, that would be awesome if we could pull it off,'" Holland said in the December 2021 issue of Empire magazine, released on Thursday.

He continued: "But there's just no way it's going to work. You're just not going to be able to get everyone to do what they need to do. It's just not going to happen.' But it did happen. And it's crazy."

"No Way Home" is set for release on December 17 and has been described as "Spider-Man: Endgame" by director Jon Watts. Holland has said in multiple interviews that the film is the last one in his contract, and his future in the MCU is unclear.

The film is one of the most anticipated of the year and is expected to feature familiar faces from past "Spider-Man" iterations that were led by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.

Alfred Molina, who starred as Spider-Man villain Dr. Otto Octavius/Doc Ock in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man: 2," will appear in the film. Molina previously confirmed his involvement in "No Way Home" during an interview with Variety and said that he'll be de-aged in the film.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told Empire that he had conversations with producer Amy Pascal "years ago" about how to incorporate villains when the "Spider-Man" franchise was rebooted with Holland.

Feige said they agreed to feature villains like Vulture and Mysterio, who hadn't been portrayed on the big screen.

"But I remember thinking, 'How would you even do Doc Ock again?' because Alfred Molina is perfect casting," he said. "If you ever brought him back, it would have to be him somehow."

Holland told the publication that he was "obsessed" with Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy and was "terrified" of Doc Ock as a child. When he came face-to-face with Molina in real life on the set of "No Way Home," the actor was nothing like his nefarious character.

"He was like, 'Hello, mate! How are you, pal? How's it going?'" Holland recalled. "He was lovely. He's a proper geezer. We had so much fun working together."

"No Way Home" is set for release on December 17 and expected to feature other well-known villains, like Green Goblin. It's also been heavily rumored that Maguire and Garfield will appear in the film, even though Garfield and Holland have denied it.