Pepper Potts to Return in Spider-Man: Homecoming?

Fans are still buzzing over the newSpider-Man: Homecoming trailerthat dropped this morning, which offered a better look at the mentor/mentee relationship between young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) andIron Manhimself, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). We have also known for quite some time thatRobert Downey Jr.will be joined by his firstIron Mandirector and actorJon Favreau, reprising his role as Tony’s bodyguard/driver Happy Hogan, who hasn’t been seen on the big screen since 2013’sIron Man 3. Today we have word thatSpider-Man: Homecomingwill bring back another character we haven’t seen sinceIron Man 3,Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts.

While this report hasn’t been confirmed,Lainey Gossipreports that, sinceGwyneth Paltrow’s contract with Marvel has expired, Sony Pictures had to pay the actress, which has reportedly become a “problem” for the studio, with the studio experiencing some “sticker shock” in regards to how much they’re having to shell out for this joint production with Marvel Studios. The report claims that Marvel would have to “pay out the nose” to bringGwyneth Paltrowback under a new contract, so her salary was paid by Sony instead. Still, there is no confirmation from either studio thatPepper Pottsis coming back.

There were reports that Pepper Potts would be featured in both 2015’sAvengers: Age of Ultronand last year’sCaptain America: Civil War, but they both turned out to be false. Pepper Potts was in fact mentioned by Tony Stark at the end ofAvengers: Age of Ultron, and in the beginning ofCaptain America: Civil War, it is revealed thatGwyneth Paltrow’s character is no longer datingRobert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, although she still does serve as the CEO of Stark Industries. If this report is true, and Pepper Potts is returning to the MCU, it may be just a one-time appearance, if Marvel doesn’t want to bring her back with a new contract.

After herMarvel contractexpired withIron Man 3,Gwyneth Paltrowrevealed she planned to take a break from acting, to focus on her lifestyle enterprise known as Goop. Over the past four years, she has only appeared in one movie, 2015’sMortdecaialongsideJohnny Depp, and appeared in episodes ofGleeandWeb Therapyin 2014. She has also signed on to play Dora Maar in the upcoming film33 dias, but it isn’t known when that project will be moving forward. Marvel has been known to throw in a few surprise characters that aren’t announced until just before the movie comes out, so it’s possible thatGwyneth Paltrowmay be one ofSpider-Man: Homecoming’s surprise cast members.

Just before theAvengers: Age of Ultronworld premiere in 2015, it was revealed that actressesLinda CardelliniandJulie Delpyhad secret roles in the movie, withLinda Cardelliniplaying Hawkeye’s new wife, andJulie Delpyplaying one of Black Widow’s training instructor when she was just a young girl. There were also a few surprises inCaptain America: Civil War, withJim Rash, who previously worked with directorsAnthony RussoandJoe RussoonCommunity, appearing as an MIT liaison inCaptain America: Civil War. As for thisSpider-Man casting, it remains to be seen if we’ll get any confirmation soon, as we get closer and closer toSpider-Man: Homecoming’s July 7 release date.