Tom Holland's Spider-Man returns to the MCU after Sony and Disney strike a deal

It's official: Spider-Man is coming back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

At the end of August, everyone and Jeff Goldblum panicked that Tom Holland's Spider-man might be leaving the MCU as a result of disputes between Sony and Disney. Reactions abound at the very timely D23 Expo, and Tom Holland's optimism made headlines.

"[A]ll I know is that I’m going to continue playing Spider-Man... The future for Spider-Man will be different, but it will be equally as awesome and amazing, and we’ll find new ways to make it even cooler," Holland said at the time.

It turns out the superhero's future won't be so different after all. According to Variety, Sony and Marvel have reached an agreement to jointly deliver the highly anticipated third film in the Spider-Man: Homecoming, with Marvel president Kevin Feige producing.

Included in the announcement was confirmation that Holland would reprise his role as Spider-Man, and that the film will be also produced by Pascal Pictures, as was the case with Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Holland's wall-crawler will also appear in one future Marvel film under the terms of the deal, though it's not clear which one.

Both Feige and Amy Pascal of Pascal pictures expressed excitement about the continuation of the Homecoming series in separate statements. Feige also teased the superhero's future in the MCU above and beyond the latest announcement.

"I am thrilled that Spidey’s journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it," Feige said in a statement. "Spider-Man is a powerful icon and hero whose story crosses all ages and audiences around the globe. He also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold."

Pascal's statement was cagier about the future, focusing instead on the excitement of the moment. "This is terrific. Peter Parker’s story took a dramatic turn in Far From Home and I could not be happier we will all be working together as we see where his journey goes," her statement read.

The third film in the Spider-Man: Homecoming film series will hit theaters on July 16, 2021.