Remember Tom Holland? It’s been a while since he’s been in a movie. After bookending Spider-Man: No Way Home with Cherry and Uncharted, followed by The Crowded Room, Holland announced a break from acting in 2023. It was a wise move that gave us time to wonder whether Holland could bring that Peter Parker charm to any other role. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Christopher Nolan thinks maybe.
Tom Holland has joined Matt Damon to lead Christopher Nolan’s top-secret new project for Universal. The film, which has no title or synopsis (but is supposedly not set in the present), is due in July 2026.
Holland is reportedly prepping for a brand-new Spider-Man adventure, making this the most prolonged period without a live-action Spider-Man movie since 2012. Rest assured, one is on the way. Holland says the Spider-Man 4 script is “excellent” but “needs work,” and who knows what that could mean, considering Spider-Man: No Way Home had three characters with the same name.
Speaking to the Rich Roll Podcast, Holland bemoaned a problem all filmmakers must overcome to reach their artistic potential: Timeline inconsistencies with fellow franchise content. Being a “small cog in a large machine” that “has got to keep running” means that a Spider-Man movie must “fit into that timeline at the right time to benefit the bigger picture.” That’s movie magic, baby.
Of course, when Tom Holland reads a script, it’s with his Spider-Man co-star and romantic partner Zendaya. Holland told Rich Roll that the couple read it a few weeks ago and “at times were bouncing around the living room like, ‘This is a real movie worthy of the fans’ respect.’” As hard as it is to imagine Zendaya saying, “This is a real movie worthy of the fans’ respect,” we wish someone gave her a copy of Joker: Folie À Deux for assessment.
What’s the Deal With Nolan’s New Film?
Since Universal announced it was reteaming with Nolan, fans everywhere have been speculating about the nature of the film. One rumor is that it’s a horror movie. Another is that it’s a helicopter action movie like 1983’s Blue Thunder. And The Hollywood Reporter story about Holland’s casting writes that “the setting is not present day (although it’s unclear whether it’s set in the past or the future).” Well, we heard two of those could potentially be true. io9 got word from a reliable source that Nolan’s film is a vampire movie set in the 1920s.
We know what you’re thinking: “Isn’t Ryan Coogler already making that movie?” Yes, he is. It’s called Sinners and it’s out in March. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for two visionary filmmakers to tackle the same topic, especially when the releases are so far apart. Don’t forget, not only was Nolan one of many directors to tackle Batman, he did a magic movie—The Prestige—around the same time as a rival studio was doing a magic movie, The Illusionist. He’s not beholden to what other people are doing. Plus, it’s not like period horror movies are all over the nation’s multiplexes these days or ever. There’s plenty of room for two or maybe even more of these.
## What’s the Latest on Nolan’s Vampire Project?
We reached out to Universal for confirmation or denial of the rumor and didn’t hear back as of publication. We’ll update the post if or when we do.
So is Nolan’s latest a period vampire movie? Probably, but we can’t say for sure. What we can say for sure is it’s Nolan’s first movie since winning Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director for Oppenheimer. It stars Matt Damon and, now, Tom Holland—who’ll reportedly shoot the film alongside Spider-Man 4 and Avengers: Doomsday. We also know it’s being released by Universal, in IMAX, on July 17, 2026.
Let’s be honest though. We all want this rumor to be true, right? We want to see Matt Damon and Tom Holland in long, flowing coats ripping out people’s throats in 70mm IMAX with your seat shaking from the huge Hans Zimmer score. That sounds like the perfect night at the movies. Let’s cross our fingers… but don’t show the vampires.
