Spider-Man Won't Return In Avengers: Infinity War?

Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Avengers: Infinity War will start production on January 23, 2017 at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Marvel Studios still hasn’t confirmed any cast members yet, but it is believed that practically the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe will be returning for this epic adventure. However, it seems that one of the MCU’s new additions won’t be joining the fight, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, at least according to a new report.

MovieCastingCall.org recently put out a casting call, seeking extras, stand-ins and photo-double for the starring actors. While many casting calls include plot details, this one does not, although there is quite the extensive cast list, which confirms that essentially all of the major MCU characters will be present, except for Spider-Man. You may recall that Tom Holland himself stated that everything is “up in the air,” in regards to his return in Avengers: Infinity War, although he did also add that “some sort of deal is in the mix.” It seems that may not be the case now, since he is nowhere to be found on this extensive cast list, which you can check out below.

“Starring in Avengers: Infinity War is BAFTA Award nominee Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Academy Award nominee Josh Brolin as Thanos, Saturn Award Winner Chris Pratt as Star Lord / Peter Quill, Teen Choice Awards nominee Sebastian Stan as Bucky, four-time Golden Globe Award nominee Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Academy Award nominee Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange, Academy Award winner Brie Larson as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, ALMA Award winner Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Empire Award winner Karen Gillan as Nebula, two-time Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye, two-time Saturn Award nominee Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America, BAFTA Awards nominee Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet, four-time Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon, Screen Actors Guild Awards nominee Vin Diesel as Groot, Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Screen Actors Guild Awards nominee Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man, British Independent Film Awards nominee Benedict Wong as Wong, Action on Film Award winner Dave Bautista as Drax, BAFTA Film Award nominee Paul Bettany as Vision, Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Award winner Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa / Black Panther, three-time Academy Award nominee Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / The Hulk, and two-time Academy Award nominee Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man.”

While none of these cast members are necessarily a surprise, it does confirm previous reports that Captain Marvel and the Guardians of the Galaxy will be joining the Avengers and the rest of the Marvel universe. It is possible, though, that Spider-Man won’t be brought in until the Avengers sequel, which is slated to hit theaters on May 3, 2019. However, both of these movies are expected to film back-to-back, with this casting call revealing that production will actually span the entire year of 2017 for both movies. Still, the exclusion of Spider-Man in this casting call is quite puzzling.

Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man made his MCU debut in this summer’s epic blockbuster Captain America: Civil War, where he was recruited to join Team Iron Man. Production recently wrapped on Tom Holland’s stand alone Spidey adventure Spider-Man: Homecoming, which will hit theaters on July 7, 2017. Avengers: Infinity War will be directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, who are working from screenplays written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. With production slated to begin in just over a month, hopefully we’ll have confirmation on the full cast of Avengers: Infinity War soon.