Spiderman’s Tom Holland to star in Romeo and Juliet in West End

Tom Holland is set to make his West End return in a new production of the Shakespeare classic, Romeo and Juliet.

Holland, 27, is known to many for portraying schoolboy-turned-superhero Peter Parker in Marvel’s latest Spider-Man and Avengers films.

Later this year, the film star will bring his talents to London’s Duke of York’s Theatre for a three-month run of one of the world’s most famous plays, starring as the romantic and ill-fated Romeo.

Romeo and Juliet will run from Saturday 11 May to Saturday 3 August, and is produced by the Jamie Lloyd Company, which is known for its adventurous and often radical takes on plays such as Sunset Boulevard, The Effect and Cyrano de Bergerac.

As of yet, the actor portraying Juliet has not been announced.

In a statement, director Jamie Lloyd spoke of his anticipation for having Holland as his lead: “Tom Holland is one of the greatest, most exciting young actors in the world.

“It is an honour to welcome him back to the West End.”

Before the days of Marvel, Holland had his stage start by playing the title role in Billy Elliot: The Musical at Victoria Palace Theatre.

Other projects of note include the BBC historical series Wolf Hall, alongside Mark Rylance and Claire Foy, and the Apple TV+ drama The Crowded Room, for which he received a Critics Choice Award nomination.

In September, Holland said that he’d be taking an acting break to recover from the strain of playing the psychologically challenging role of a man arrested for his involvement in a shooting in 1979.

On Monday (5 February), the day before the announcement, the actor teased that he had big news for his fans with an Instagram story that showed him playing golf.

In response to the reveal of his new role, several fans of the actor shared their hopes that his girlfriend and Spider-Man co-star Zendaya would be cast alongside him in the tragic romance.

“I hope Zendaya is Juliet,” wrote one supporter. Elsewhere, another fan expressed that they’d expected the announcement to be a follow-up to the 2022 box office hit, Spider-Man: No Way Home.

“Who thought it would be Spider-Man 4?” the commenter wrote.

Hopeful future audience members can sign up for priority booking at www.romeoandjulietLDN.com.

Tickets go on sale on Tuesday 13 February at 8am for people signed up for priority booking and ATG+ members, with general sales beginning later that day at 12pm.