Hudson Thames knew he had big shoes to fill coming in to voice Spider-Man in "What If...?" after Tom Holland's popular run in the live-action MCU films, and the actor didn't want to stray too far from what the fans were used to seeing. But when trying to recreate the same charm of Holland's persona, Thames started to cultivate his own take on the character. "At first, I was definitely trying to sound like Tom [Holland], and then I realized it wasn't going to be a few lines," Thames said during an interview with The Direct. "[I realized] it was going to be me having to find an identity with that character, so I kind of threw that away and did my thing with it. Serendipitously, we sound a bit similar. As I kept going in more and more for more sessions on the episode, I was like, 'Oh, this is an opportunity to live in this character a little bit' and have fun with it."
While Thames inevitably put his spin on the Marvel hero, he still tried to incorporate things Holland did in the films, saying, "I did go through some of the other movies, more to find the playfulness and energy that he brought, because I think it is fantastic." He will most likely bring that same energy for "Spider:Man: Freshman Year," but despite the similarities between the two performances, fans seem to have a wide range of thoughts regarding who should headline the animated series.
