Tom Holland Admits His James Bond Movie Idea Would Be a ‘Marketing Nightmare’
Looking back, Tom Holland understands why Sony turned down his James Bond movie pitch. Earlier this year, the Uncharted and Spider-Man: No Way Home star revealed he wanted to tell an Agent 007 origin story. However, his pitch included a movie twist that would likely cause major headaches in the marketing department. Here’s why.
Tom Holland pitched a James Bond movie to Sony, but they turned him down
It all started around 2019 when Holland approached Spider-Man movie distributor Sony with an idea for a James Bond story. Recalling his pitch in a February 2022 interview with LA Times, Holland explained that he wanted to go back to the beginning of Bond’s journey as a spy.
“He was supposed to just be a kid who was graduating into the SAS and goes on a mission, which is obviously exciting and adventurous,” the actor said. “At the end of the film, he would be recruited into MI:6 and given the status of double-O and the title of James Bond.”
Unfortunately, Sony didn’t find the idea quite as intriguing as Holland.
“I thought it was really cool, but no one else, I guess, thought it was cool,” he added.
Tom Holland admitted the idea was ‘kind of stupid’ from a marketing standpoint
Although Holland felt a little disappointed that Sony didn’t like his pitch, he realized why in hindsight. The Cherry star talked about his idea and why it might have failed during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, as seen above.
“It didn’t work out quite as planned. Essentially, I’m such a big fan of James Bond. I’ve loved Daniel Craig’s movies,” he said. “And I just thought: If they were to move on, it would be really exciting to see how James Bond becomes James Bond.”
Holland then admitted he had a twist in mind for the movie, but it was a “stupid idea.”
“You wouldn’t tell the audience that it was a James Bond movie until the end, but from a marketing point of view, that’s a nightmare,” he continued. “Like that just doesn’t make any sense.”
Essentially, Sony would have to find a way to intrigue Bond fans without telling them it was a Bond movie. That would definitely take some serious creativity. Plus, Meyers joked that Holland — who is notorious for accidentally spoiling things — wouldn’t be able to keep the secret.
“If I got cast as James Bond, I would be like, ‘I am James Bond.’ Tweet,” Holland joked.
His James Bond pitch led to another important origin story movie
As much as Holland would love to play James Bond, his failed pitch did have a positive outcome elsewhere in his career. Sony decided to take the idea and apply it to the Uncharted movie, which Holland helped make happen. He stars as Nathan Drake, an amateur thief and bartender who gets recruited by a seasoned treasure hunter, Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg), to find a $5 billion treasure. The film acts as a prequel to Nathan’s adventures in the Uncharted video games.
Uncharted turned out to be a huge success for Holland. The film has been received positively by audiences around the globe, and it has become a commercial hit. It remained in the top spot at the U.S. box office for several weeks until The Batman took over in early March.
Uncharted is now playing in theaters.
