Tom Holland has broken his silence on the controversy surrounding Spider-Man’s future in Marvel films.

The web-slinger has been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2016 following a landmark deal between Sony, which owns the film rights for the character, and Marvel’s parent company Disney.

However, the two entertainment giants failed to come to a new agreement over future films, all but ending Spider-Man’s involvement in the MCU.

Tom Holland
Tom Holland has broken his silence on the Spider-Man controversy (Ian West/PA)

Holland appeared on stage at Disney’s convention D23 on Saturday and spoke publicly for the first time about the situation.

He said: “It’s been a crazy week. But I want you to know I am grateful from the bottom of my heart and I love you 3,000.”

The latter part of the statement is a reference to a phrase in the Avengers films.

Holland, 23, first played Spider-Man in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. He was appearing at D23 promoting the Disney/Pixar animated film Onward, which also stars Jurassic World’s Chris Pratt.

The movie sees Holland and Pratt as two teenage elf brothers who embark on a quest to discover if there is still magic in the world.