In the lead-up to the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, and its complete domination of the box office until Jackass Forever stepped in almost two months later, Tom Holland referred to the highly-anticipated installment as “dark and sad,” and even went so far as to describe it as “not fun.” While Holland was simply trying to highlight that the movie pushes Peter Parker to the limit and challenges his seemingly endless optimism, which it does, Marvel was not thrilled with the young actor telling everyone that No Way Home is “brutal” going into a theatrical release with a rampant COVID variant in the mix.
It’s funny, I actually got in trouble on the press tour. I got a phone call from some people at the studio, saying, “Stop saying the movie is brutal! Stop saying the movie is emotional! It doesn’t sell the movie!” And I was like, “But it is! This is the most emotional superhero movie that’s ever been made.” And they were like, “We want people to understand how fun it is.” And I was like, “It is fun, but it’s also kind of heartbreaking.” So I had to sort of change track on how I was promoting the movie, but I’m glad I gave at least some people some warning.
In Holland’s defense, more than any of his prior Spider-Man performances, No Way Home is an emotional gut-punch that veers closer to Spidey’s comic origins where his life of trying to be a friendly neighborhood hero is marred by tragedy. That said, the film is still an absolute blast. So basically Marvel and Tom Holland are both right. Now, shake hands and be nice.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)