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Marvel is putting Spider-Man fans at ease in the wake of their latest movie -- which leaves Tom Holland's future as the teen hero uncertain -- confirming ... nope, the story ain't over!

MCU Prez Kevin Feige got the word out early this week to the NYT, this during an interview alongside key Sony producer Amy Pascal -- who oversees all things Spidey for them ... as the two studios kinda share the rights to the comic book character at the moment.

On both fronts, they assured everyone ... yes, they're already working on a sequel to 'No Way Home' -- which presumably means Holland's along for the ride too.

When asked if Pascal spoke too soon last month -- when she prematurely revealed TH would be starring in a whole new trilogy -- she said, "We’re producers, so we always believe everything will work out," adding she hopes the Marvel partnership lasts "forever."

KF was a bit more direct about what was happening next ... "Amy and I and Disney and Sony are talking about -- yes, we’re actively beginning to develop where the story heads next, which I only say outright because I don’t want fans to go through any separation trauma like what happened after 'Far From Home.' That will not be occurring this time."

That's pretty big news, but not at all surprising ... seeing how 'NWH' whooped ass at the box office this weekend, on its way to grossing around $250M in its first few days in theaters.

No question ... there was going to be a sequel eventually, but what Kev and Amy here seem to be implying is that they're going to continue the Holland storyline -- which is major ...  considering what happens at the end of his latest adventure.

As you probably know by know, the dude forges on as Spider-Man by himself -- no longer having Aunt May by his side ... and not even MJ or his pal, Ned. May dies, and the latter have their memories wiped about who he is/was completely (thanks to Dr. Strange) ... something Peter opts to do to avoid putting them in any more danger.

In other words, the guy's single again and all on his own. And, if they continue with Holland as the lead ... it's almost like everything that happened in the previous 3 movies is wiped clean ... and they can start fresh again with new romantic interests, bad guys, etc.

Matt Reeves really said "come as you are" to Robert Pattinson for his new Batman movie -- and he meant it in every sense of the word ... because Kurt Cobain is on his brain.

The 'Batman' director spilled the beans this week in a new Empire interview about the inspiration behind his version of Bruce Wayne -- with Pattinson playing the billionaire playboy by day, and the Caped Crusader by night.

Lo and behold ... it was the late Nirvana singer that actually inspired RP's look -- which makes a ton of sense. The guy looks pretty grungy, and now we know why.

Reeves says of the process behind figuring out a new take ... "When I write, I listen to music, and as I was writing the first act, I put on Nirvana's 'Something In The Way.'"

He adds, "That's when it came to me that, rather than make Bruce Wayne the playboy version we've seen before, there's another version who had gone through a great tragedy and become a recluse. So, I started making this connection to Gus Van Sant's Last Days, and the idea of this fictionalized version of Kurt Cobain being in this kind of decaying manor."

That's a pretty sweet tribute to Kurt, no doubt. But, fans are pointing out Pattinson's Wayne appearance is perhaps less punk rock ... and more emo. Or at least it was before this new shot of Bob surfaced, where his hair is a little more messy -- and he gives off Cobain vibes.

Jenifer Lewis is calling on Congress to open an investigation into the death of Kendrick Johnson -- a 17-year-old black boy -- whose body was found rolled up in a gym mat years ago.

"The Mother of Black Hollywood" author and exec producer of the Starz documentary "Finding Kendrick Johnson" joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and shared why she thinks his case is so important.

Jenifer told us, "This is the most important film I’ve ever worked on. What this family has gone through is unspeakable but we must speak it so the public knows the truth."

The controversial death was ruled "accidental" by the state of Georgia, although Kendrick's family hired a forensics specialist who said his death was caused by "non-accidental blunt force trauma." The case was closed, but reopened in March ... we're told the doc sheds light on new evidence in the case.

Jenifer's clearly outraged by the lack of action on the part of law enforcement, saying, "You know how much evidence the FBI has to have to storm somebody’s house with guns AK- 47s out? And then when they got in there and saw that it was an FBI agent, it was just pushed under the rug, just pushed under the rug. Another Black kid. So what?”

The actress also talked about her special connection to filmmaker Jason Pollock after his 2014 Michael Brown doc, since she grew up in a small town just outside of Ferguson ... and she now wants the people in Washington to do something about it.

'Black Panther' fans have spoken, saying Chadwick Boseman's beloved character should be recast going forward, and believe it or not ... the man's own brother concurs.

CB's bro, Derrick Boseman, tells TMZ ... yes, he does think T'Challa needs to live on in the 'Black Panther' franchise, and if that means tapping another actor to portray the king of Wakanda -- the role Chadwick made famous and legendary, then so be it.

Here's the thing ... Derrick tells us he believes his sibling would've wanted with this too -- explaining Chadwick thought T'Challa was bigger than just himself as one guy. Frankly, Derrick says Chadwick knew the power of the character, and the positive influence it carries.

Derrick says there's so much power in seeing a Black king -- especially in a superhero capacity, like in the Marvel flick -- which has a HUGE impact on African-American youth. DB tells us with Marvel killing off that character so quickly in the wake of Chadwick's death, they're kinda depriving black kids of a role model.

As you know, there's a major push among fans to #RecastTChalla amid all the speculated drama with Letitia Wright.

Derrick says there aren't a whole lot of positive influences for young black children these days -- he thinks hip-hop glorifies certain social ills, and Marvel has a chance to counteract that by bringing back T'Challa -- who he sees as a symbol of Black people's potential.

The guy speaks from experience, telling us his own nephew has told the family he wants to be a scientist and cites 'Black Panther' as his inspiration.

James Bond could soon be using they/them pronouns on the big screen -- at least according to the woman who co-owns the rights to the franchise, and isn't ruling out the possibility.

Producer Barbara Broccoli -- who controls all things Bond via her film company, Eon Productions, alongside her brother -- did an interview with Anna Smith of the "Girls on Film" podcast ... and the debate over Bond being a woman was once again brought up.

Smith asked if she still felt JB needed to be a man going forward, and Broccoli again said yes. She reiterated her point about not forcing a gender-bending switch for characters that are traditionally male (like Bond) and said new ones simply needed to be written for females.

Then ... a curveball. Smith asked if Bond could, perhaps, be non-binary ... and Broccoli didn't shut down the idea outright. She replied, "Who knows, I think it's open, you know? We just have to find the right actor."

To be frank, it doesn't sound like Broccoli was eagerly jumping at the idea, and she had said right before that ... she thinks Bond will be a man in the future. Still, it's interesting she even entertained the idea.

One thing she did say 007 could be ... a POC. She just wants Bond to be British, and to have XY chromosomes. Everything else about the character, it seems, is open to discussion.

Steven Spielberg's rendition of 'West Side Story' might be a hit with critics, but it tanked at the box office ... something many are taking joy in, all because of Ansel Elgort.

The numbers are in for the film, and it doesn't look like people were flocking to catch it on the big screen -- with the movie only raking in around $4.1 million on opening day (Friday), and a projected $10 to $11 million haul for the whole weekend. That's ... quite bad.

There's a lot on theories on why 'WSS' didn't do well ... but one that's circulating online -- without much evidence to support it, we should note -- is Ansel himself may have kept folks at arm's length, due in part to allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

Like we said, there isn't a whole lot of proof to this -- most are blaming the pandemic and a sluggish holiday trend, but even if there's no credence to the Ansel thing ... there sure is a lot of giddiness.

Long story short ... the guy was accused of sexually assaulting a woman -- who told her story on Twitter, and then deleted it -- who claims she was 17 when she had sex with him in 2014. She alleges she felt violated afterward, and went on to say she suffers from PTSD. Ansel denied her characterization in a since-deleted message -- insisting it was consensual.

Other women have come forward with claims against him as well, alleging he was predatory and soliciting minors before he was uber famous -- but he hasn't addressed those specifically. In any case, him being tapped as the lead for Spielberg was widely criticized.

In SS's defense, the allegation surfaced last year -- well after Ansel had been cast and even after the film had wrapped ... so it was too late to even consider getting someone else. Interestingly, Spielberg and co. haven't addressed the situation thus far ... and all signs point to them staying mum.

Leonardo DiCaprio is becoming the king of real estate, because he just scooped up another massively expensive property.

Leo's latest addition to his sizeable portfolio -- a $9.9 million estate in Bev Hills. As we reported, he just unloaded a Malibu pad for $10.3 mil (which BTW he bought for $1.6 mil in 1998). He also owns a $13.8 million Malibu estate and a $23 million lot in the Bu as well.

As for Bev Hills, it's a 5,000-square-foot home with all the extras. It's tucked away behind walls and gates ... because we know Leo likes his privacy.

This, BTW, is not the full extent of Leo's real property investments ... he also owns a century-old English Tudor-style home in the Los Feliz area of L.A., and Spanish Colonial nearby.

But wait ... there's more.  Leo has a midcentury modern in Palm Springs, condos in NYC and a private island near Belize.

The place he seems to likes most ... a massive compound on 4 parcels in the Bird Streets (made famous by The Beatles, who were inspired by their rental on Blue Jay Way) in the Hollywood Hills.

Australian actress Rebel Wilson hit a personal goal, dropping over 77 pounds ... but she admits her own team wasn't happy about it.

The "Pitch Perfect" star told "BBC Breakfast" she decided to lose weight for her health, but she got pushback from her own management ... They questioned, "'Why would you wanna do that?' Because I was earning millions of dollars being the funny fat girl and being that person."

Rebel says, although she was always comfortable with her weight, she found comfort in food to escape her emotions as she struggled to establish herself as an actress.

She says she knew that she needed to make a change... "I knew deep down inside that some of the emotional eating behaviors I was doing was not healthy. Like I did not need a tub of ice cream every night."

Last November, Rebel revealed she reached her goal weight of 165 lbs ... partially due to the Mayr Method diet plan, which cuts sugar and encourages slow eating. She's also become something of a gym rat ... working out 6 times a week.

George Clooney says he's so flush with cash that even a $35 million offer to do "one day's work" just wasn't worth it.

Clooney recently spoke with The Guardian and said at this point in his life, he's got all the money he needs and therefore has become more selective in the projects he chooses to do. Clooney says, "I was offered $35 million for one day's work for an airline commercial, but I talked to Amal about it and we decided it's not worth it."

However, Clooney went on to explain his reasoning, saying of the airline, "It was [associated with] a country that, although it's an ally, is questionable at times, and so I thought: 'Well, if it takes a minute's sleep away from me, it's not worth it."

60-year-old Clooney says he's chosen to act less over the last few years, not just because he's not into the parts, but he also wants to spend more time with his wife and twins.

Clooney is, however, still working, as The Guardian interview was to promote the new film he's directing called "The Tender Bar."

Alec Baldwin says he never pulled the trigger on the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and followed her instructions to point the gun at her, not knowing there was live ammunition in the chamber.

Baldwin says he pointed the gun at her as directed ... cocked it and let go of the hammer and that's when the gun went off. He says he never touched the trigger. Assistant Director Dave Halls backed Baldwin up and says Baldwin never had his finger on the trigger.

Baldwin says the only issue for him is how live ammunition got into the chamber of the gun. He says he was told it was an "empty gun" -- meaning only dummy bullets.

When the gun fired and Halyna fell to the ground, Baldwin says he didn't know for 45 minutes to an hour she was hit by a live round. He thought maybe Halyna got hit by wadding typically found in blanks.

Baldwin felt people waited too long to get her to a hospital. A helicopter finally came and took her to a hospital.

The Sheriff eventually told Baldwin Halyna had died. The photos of Baldwin outside on the phone are when he called his wife to tell her what happened.

Baldwin says George Clooney didn't help the situation by commenting that he always checked a gun that he handled on set. Baldwin was clearly annoyed at Clooney. He says he's always relied on the experts -- like the armorer -- on the set that a gun was safe to handle.

Baldwin does not believe the live ammo on the set was an act of sabotage ... something claimed by the lawyer for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. He says this was an accident.

Baldwin says he hates that Reed and Halls have been villainized unfairly, he believes.

He also doesn't discount his brother Daniel -- who told TMZ he believed Baldwin was targeted for his political beliefs. He mentions Donald Trump, who went after Baldwin.

Baldwin said he was not a nuts-and-bolts producer who made hiring decisions ... rather, he says he was a "creative producer" -- meaning his role was more about content. This is significant ... given the allegations, Reed was way too inexperienced to be an armorer and Halls had safety issues on previous sets.

He says he was never told by the crew they had safety concerns ... he says the complaints were along the lines of grousing they wanted better hotels.

Sylvester Stallone and "Rocky" fans are gonna love this ... a bunch of memorabilia from his acting career and the movie franchise is hitting the auction block, including boxing gloves he wore in the franchise.

Julien's Auctions just announced the massive collection, and the highlights include Sly's boxing gloves used on camera in "Rocky III," and his training gloves from "Rocky Balboa."

The haul also includes the boxing mouth guard SS wore as Rocky in the iconic 1976 film ... and his original handwritten notebooks filled with story development ideas for the first four installments of the film franchise.

Hulk Hogan famously fought Sly in 'Rocky III' ... and the original artwork from their on-set fight is open for bidding.

The OG 'Rocky' won the Golden Globe for Best Picture in 1977, and the announcement card from the award show is up for sale ... along with original concept art for the film poster, and a shadowbox display with 'Rocky' themed boxing shorts produced for Planet Hollywood.

Sly's signed boxing training pad from "Creed" can be yours ... as well as his Air Jodan boxing boots from the movie.

The Stallone auction isn't just about 'Rocky' ... there's also memorabilia from his work on the 'Rambo' franchise.

The 'Rambo' gear includes ... knives, arrow quivers, headbands, scripts, watches, duffel bags, combat boots, prop guns and a machete.

The lawyer for the assistant director on "Rust" is backing Alec Baldwin's claim he did not pull the trigger on the gun that caused the death of Halyna Hutchins.

Lisa Torraco appeared on "Good Morning America" Thursday and actually went a step further, saying her client told her from day 1 not only did Baldwin not pull the trigger, he didn't even have his finger on the trigger.

Torraco said, “...that the entire time Baldwin had his finger outside the trigger guard, parallel to the barrel, and that he told me since day one he thought it was a misfire. I know, and until Alec said that, it was just really hard to believe, but Dave has told me since the very first day I met him that Alec did not pull that trigger.”

For starters, the word "misfire" is being used improperly. A misfire is when you pull the trigger and nothing happens because there's something wrong with the ammo.

The core issue, however -- can a gun discharge a bullet when someone does not pull the trigger? Weapons expert Steve Wolf tells TMZ, yes, if someone drops a loaded gun the inertia of the trigger hitting the ground could cause enough movement for the gun to discharge.

But, Wolf is clear ... if someone is holding a gun, he says it will not fire without the user pulling the trigger. He says some of these weapons have "very light trigger action" ... meaning a gentle tap could cause a discharge. But, he says there can't be a discharge without some trigger movement.

Jonshel Alexander, the former child actor who co-starred in the Oscar-nominated film “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” is dead after a shooting in her native Louisiana.

Jonshel -- who was 12 when she got the role in the 2012 film -- was sitting in a vehicle with a man last Saturday in New Orleans when someone opened fire on them. Jonshel was pronounced dead on the scene, her friend survived and went to a hospital for treatment.

Police have released a photo of a person of interest -- a Black male wearing a ski mask -- and are asking the public for help identifying and locating him.

Jonshel played Joy Strong in 'Beasts' ... a drama filmed in Louisiana about a struggling bayou community, which also had then-6-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis in the lead role. The movie got 4 Oscar noms, including Best Picture, and won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Director Benh Zeitlin has said he pretty much created the role of Joy specifically for Jonshel. As he put it, “A lot of the lines were written by her, and so much of the character grew out of who Jonshel was. Her character in the film is named Joy Strong, which always seemed like a perfect description of Jonshel. She was a really bright burning light.”

'Beasts' was her only acting role. After graduating high school, Jonshel worked as a hostess in restaurants and had a daughter ... according to the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate.

Jonshel was 22.

There's a new Peter Pan movie that's about to take to the skies next year -- and wouldn't you know it ... their lead Wendy is getting paid handsomely, especially for her age!

Actress Ever Anderson, who's just 14 years old, stands to make at least six figures for her work on Disney's "Peter Pan & Wendy" flick ... a new live-action spin on the classic fairy tale that's due out sometime in 2022.

Like we said ... EA is playing a young Wendy Darling, PP's love interest and the oldest of the Darling children who join Peter on an adventure to Never Land. Unclear if there's a whole lot new or different they're doing this time around ... other than just rebooting the franchise.

In any case, TMZ got a hold of her minor's contract filed with the court -- which spells out what Ever is raking in for this movie ... as well as any sequels that get greenlit. For this film, she's guaranteed $100k ... and there's even a $50k bonus on the table if the movie is released straight to Disney+ without a theatrical run first.

Looks like Disney may have learned its lesson after the ScarJo and "Black Widow" fiasco and is addressing this scenario in the contract.

That's about all there is to be had for this first installment, but if a sequel comes about ... Ever's contract says she could earn at least $200k guaranteed on the next go-around, and if they're in the mood for part 3 -- it'd be a cool $400k right out the gate ... not to mention any bonuses that could be attached to those respective projects.

Faizon Love says a potential "Elf" sequel doesn't need the star power of Will Ferrell ... he says America is ready for a Santa's helper redo -- a Black elf.

The actor, who played the store manager in the original "Elf," tells TMZ ... he's surprised Will turned down a $29 million payday for a sequel, but it just opens the door for the movie to go in a new direction.

Faizon says with Will out of the picture, it's a perfect time to introduce a Black elf into the storyline ... and he thinks audiences will embrace the change.

It's pretty funny ... Faizon says America got warmed up with a Black president and then an "orange" president ... so a Black elf is just the next step.

Will says he turned down the huge payday because he didn't think the sequel would ever live up to the OG holiday classic ... a decision Faizon says few could make.

Channing Tatum is logging some quality time with his daughter ... selling lemonade by the side of the road and serving a very famous customer in Zooey Deschanel!!!

The "Magic Mike" star helped his little girl, Everly, open a lemonade stand Friday in Los Angeles ... wrangling in customers with some homemade signs and balloons.

Channing and Everly, who he shares with estranged wife Jenna Dewan, are calling the pop-up stand Evie's Lemies ... and daddy was dancing around and twirling their painted yellow and purple sign.

The dude's got skills ... Channing's sign-twirling looks like it caught Zooey's eye ... the actress stopped by for some fresh lemonade with her boyfriend, "Property Brothers" star Jonathan Scott.

TMZ broke the story ... Channing and Jenna finally worked out a parenting schedule in February 2020, putting an end to one of the nastier parts of their divorce, and they alternate holidays.