Avengers: Infinity War was certainly not short of emotional moments, but the one bit that seems to have made Marvel fans well up more than any other is Spider-Man’s death at the end of the movie, as he becomes one of the many victims of Thanos’ apocalyptic finger snap. Unlike other characters, though, Peter gets to say a final few words as he dies in Iron Man’s arms.
We were previously told that the scene was not scripted and Parker’s last words were actually conceived by Tom Holland on the spot. This brought him a lot of acclaim, but now the actor’s played down the ad-lib. In typical British style, he didn’t want to brag about his part in making the scene work so effectively and joked that all he did was say the same sentence three times.
“It is kind of true, but really all I say is “I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go,” three times in a row so it’s not that amazing of an ad lib, you know.”
Even so, Holland was spot on with his improvising as that simple, repeated line was perfect for Spidey’s demise, as it captured how scared this young man was to die. What’s more, sci-fi fans were perhaps predisposed to find those particular words heartbreaking as whether by coincidence or not, that phrase is also the last thing said by David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who.
The need for Holland to think up some final words for Peter in Avengers: Infinity War came about because it was decided that he’d react quicker to his incoming death than the other heroes. It’s since been explained that the thinking behind this is that Parker’s Spider-Sense gave him a warning that he was about to die. All of these elements – including Robert Downey Jr.’s reaction to his surrogate son’s passing – came together for a truly emotional and powerful scene. Even if Holland wants to play down his part in it.