Tom Holland Lost A Major War Movie Role Because Of A Disastrous Box Office Flop

Tom Holland will forever be Spider-Man for an entire generation of fans who grew up on his Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. But outside of his superhero exploits, the actor has struggled to land box office hits. That looks to be changing after Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" ruled the box office, but it hasn't been an easy road for Holland. At one point, the British star might have missed out on a major war movie because he was busy. Doing what? Making a box office flop, of course.

Turns out Holland was likely in talks to star in Sam Mendes' one-take war pic triumph "1917." Designed to look as though it was filmed in a single shot from beginning to end, the 2019 film is a modern war classic that doesn't just rely on technical flourishes to succeed; it also delivers an emotional story. It follows British soldiers Lance Corporal Thomas Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Lance Corporal William Schofield (George MacKay) as they embark on a suicide mission behind enemy lines with the lives of their fellow fighters (and Blake's older brother) hanging in the balance. Cinematographer Roger Deakins lends his exceptional eye to the film, making for a gripping emotional story that's also a technical marvel.

Even more impressive is the fact that this World War I epic was a box office success, making $446 million on a $96 million budget — and Tom Holland could have been right in the center of it all. Instead, he was obligated to star in "Chaos Walking," a dystopian sci-fi actioner that earned similarly dystopian reviews and made just $26.5 million on a budget of between $100 and $125 million.

"1917" is based on the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line during Operation Alberich in northern France, in which the Imperial German Army fell back to draw out Allied troops and bombard them with artillery fire. The film sees Thomas Blake and William Schofield forced to journey across no man's land to deliver a message to another regiment that could prevent the Germans' plan from working and save thousands of soldiers' lives. Not only did that gripping tale of bravery make a decent profit at the box office, but it also earned an impressive 10 Oscar nominations, ultimately winning for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects. It could have made Tom Holland's non-Spider-Man career.

Instead, Holland led a box office flop based on a beloved sci-fi book series. Directed by Doug Liman, "Chaos Walking" is an adaptation of "The Knife of Never Letting Go," the first book in Patrick Ness' "Chaos Walking" trilogy. The novels were popular, won numerous awards, and earned critical praise for their exploration of mature themes via stories designed for young adults. The movie, however, was dubbed "Chaos Limping" by Peter Travers.

In 2018, That Hollywood Show reported that Holland was in talks to star in "1917." At the time, the actor was shooting 2019's "Spider-Man: Far From Home" but was reportedly being considered for an unknown role in Mendes' war film — though considering he had established himself as a major star following 2017's "Spider-Man: Homecoming," it was almost certainly one of the two main roles. Subsequent reports have claimed the actor was supposed to play Tom Blake, but nothing has been officially confirmed. By the time Mendes was ready to start work on "1917," however, it seems Holland was bound to reshoots on "Chaos Walking."

"Chaos Walking" stars Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley in a story about a planet on which all women have been eradicated. Holland plays Todd Hewitt, who, like all the other inhabitants of his dudes-only world, can hear the thoughts of those around him thanks to a condition known as "The Noise." When Viola (Ridley) crash-lands on the planet, however, Todd takes it on himself to protect her and, in the process, uncovers some uncomfortable truths about his world.

All of that added up to a 21% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics describing it as "a bland retread through YA's most familiar faults," or more succinctly, "a hot mess." Elsewhere, /Film's Hoai-Tran Bui called "Chaos Walking" a shockingly grim leftover of the YA dystopian craze, and Robbie Collin of The Telegraph even accused Holland and Ridley of having "all the rapport of two tree trunks." That's not very nice, is it — especially considering Holland was roped into doing reshoots which reportedly cost him a role in Sam Mendes' Oscar-winning war movie.

When "Chaos Walking" did finally debut in 2021, it became a historic bomb, with Variety reporting that the film would "result in a massive write-down" for Lionsgate. It didn't help that Holland's previous film was the bloated Russo Brothers mess "Cherry," which added to the perception that the actor needed Marvel to be successful. Thankfully, things picked up in the years that followed. 2022's "Uncharted" might not have been a great movie, but it was a modest box office hit. Now, Holland is in the two biggest films of 2026, and with "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" giving the actor an unbelievable box office record, his "Chaos Walking" days are hopefully far behind him.