Matt Damon Reveals How Tom Holland Became the Powerhouse Behind Sony

Here’s a fun story about Hollywood power players, legends geeking out over classic movies, and Tom Holland casually acting like he owns all of Sony (which, honestly, he sort of does at this point). Grab your popcorn.

When Spider-Man Calls, Sony Listens

Matt Damon was recently on the On Film... with Kevin McCarthy podcast, sitting down with his forever-wingman Ben Affleck. They were technically there to hype their new movie, The Rip, but things took a detour into Christopher Nolan territory, and out popped a story about Tom Holland using his superhero clout in the least surprising way possible.

The conversation drifted to the iconic Lawrence of Arabia 70mm print. Turns out, Tom Rothman, high up at Sony, sometimes arranges private screenings for his family. But when it came to showing it off for the cast of Nolan’s mega-budget take on The Odyssey, Damon confessed it was Tom Holland who made it happen. Yeah, Peter Parker picked up the phone and just sorted it out because, as Damon joked:

'Tom Holland runs that studio. He’s Spider-Man. So he called Tom Rothman and on a Sunday we went down and screened it.'

Affleck laughed. Of course he did. He couldn’t make the screening (something about literally being Ben Affleck and always filming), but it’s clear even Academy Award winners are a little in awe of Holland’s pull at Sony these days. And if you’re wondering why the 27-year-old British dude in spandex basically has a direct line to every executive in Hollywood, well...

How Tom Holland Became Sony’s MVP

Sony almost didn’t even want Tom Holland as Spider-Man. Yep. In a GQ chat, Marvel’s Anthony and Joe Russo said they had to convince Sony execs that Holland was the guy—Sony was nervous about his age and got cold feet right up to the finish line. Marvel boss Kevin Feige was onboard instantly, but over at Sony: 'Let’s think about it for a minute.' (Which, as anyone who deals with studio execs knows, often means 'maybe never.')

Fast forward a few years, and Holland is not only huge with fans—he’s turned his Spidey run into an actual box office windfall. But it almost blew up again in 2019 during the contract renegotiation standoff between Sony and Marvel/Disney. Remember those headlines about Spider-Man maybe leaving the MCU? Well, apparently it was Holland, of all people, who stepped in to save the day offscreen too.

Here’s how the rescue mission apparently went down:

• Holland personally called up Sony’s Tom Rothman and Disney’s Bob Iger—like, just picked up the phone, as if these are normal humans not running billion-dollar empires—asking them to find a way to share Spider-Man.
• He even leveraged his role in Sony’s Uncharted to get their attention.
• The studios finally got over themselves, signed a fresh deal, and boom—we got No Way Home, and (soon) Spidey 4.

Clearly, after hauling in $2 billion with his first two movies, Holland’s word suddenly carries a whole lot of weight. Exhibit A: The No Way Home box office, cruising to $1.9 billion.

The Stats: How Holland’s Spidey Performs

Here’s a quick look at the money and the fan/critic vibes for each MCU Spider-Man. Really, this is dream scenario stuff for a studio:

Next up: Spider-Man: Brand New Day. That’s currently shooting, aiming for a July 31, 2026, release—just two weeks after Holland’s other big 2026 movie, Nolan’s The Odyssey. July is going to be busy.

Nolan’s The Odyssey: What We Know So Far

So, on Nolan’s Greek epic project, Holland plays Telemachus (that’s Odysseus’ son, if Greek mythology is hazy for you) and Matt Damon is the main man, Odysseus himself. Then you’ve got Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, Elliot Page—a frankly ridiculous cast by any measure.

Holland told GQ Sports this was 'the job of a lifetime,' saying it’s the best experience he’s ever had on set: 'Incredible. It was exciting. It was different. And I think the movie is going to be unlike anything we’ve ever seen.' He didn’t hold back about Damon either:

'Matt Damon has always been a hero of mine, Anne Hathaway has always been a hero of mine. So to share scenes with them, to learn from them, to become friends with them, I couldn't have asked for a better job.'

Just a reminder, Nolan made Oppenheimer—multiple Oscars, massive box office, and enough industry cred to do basically whatever he wants next. The Odyssey is filming in Morocco and Sicily, so expect sun-drenched epicness (and probably some heavy practical effects, because it’s Nolan).

Universal is distributing The Odyssey, its second major Nolan flick after Oppenheimer. Release date is July 17, 2026. Mark your calendar—if you like blockbusters with actual ambition, this is probably your movie.

Wrap Up

So, what did we learn? Tom Holland has gone from 'maybe too young' to literally picking up the phone and setting up legendary screenings... or bailing out billion-dollar deals. Matt Damon seems slightly amused (maybe a little jealous?) by it all. And if The Odyssey delivers on the hype, Holland’s already-gigantic career is only going to get bigger.