“The bravest thing you can do is ask for help.” Tom Holland and the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day tease Peter’s darkest chapter yet.
Swinging into theaters July 31st, Spider-Man: Brand New Day finds Peter Parker in a grounded, New York City-centric story. He is now all alone, after the events of Spider-Man: Now Way Home, where he made the world forget his secret identity, including his best friend Ned and girlfriend MJ.
Mama’s Geeky recently attended the global press conference for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Moderated by Josh Horowitz, the star-studded panel included the main cast and the creatives behind the film. In attendance were stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Sadie Sink, and Jon Bernthal, alongside director Destin Daniel Cretton and producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal.
The conversation teased exciting team-ups, authentic New York grit, and the emotional isolation driving Peter Parker’s darkest chapter yet.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Cast & Creatives Tease Spidey’s Darkest Story Yet
Josh Horowitz: What can we say? Just generally speaking, seeing the finished product, what?
Tom Holland: I think we can all agree that Destin nailed it. Yes. Yes, we can. I think we are so lucky to have Destin as the captain of our ship. You know, he came into this process when the movie was going in a hundred different directions, and really what we needed was someone to come in and focus us all on one idea. And what’s so amazing about Destin is that he’s able to do that and focus on this idea of what is life like for a young person who is alone. And that is something that people deal with all across the world. It doesn’t sacrifice the action. It doesn’t sacrifice the scope and scale of the movie. So if we didn’t have Destin, this movie wouldn’t be half of what it is.
Josh Horowitz: Destin, what does Brand New Day mean to you? What should it convey to the audience?
Director Destin Daniel Cretton: Brand New Day, I think, is something that Peter hasn’t quite learned yet at the beginning of this movie. I think it represents something that he is deep inside hoping for. And you will see that in many ways, Peter’s character and many of the other characters in this movie find that feeling of a brand new day and a new start over the journey of this film.
Josh Horowitz: Coming off of that global phenomenon [Spider-Man: No Way Home], talk to me a little bit about what the challenge and opportunity was.
Producer Amy Pascal: Well, we put ourselves in a really difficult position at the end of that movie. Because those movies that we’d made before were all about people finding out who Spider-Man was that made his life a different kind of life than Spider-Man usually has. So what we decided to do is make it much more difficult and take him back to a place where nobody knew who he was. Because that is always Spider-Man’s dilemma. After you make a movie about three Spider-Men, there could be a tendency to want to make a movie that is more gigantic. And what we decided, especially because of the director that we had, was to make a movie that was smaller. And that was about somebody’s personal life. And that was about Peter. And that it all came from him. And we always tried to do that with Spider-Man movies, but I think we succeeded really in this one to do that. And Destin was a gift that Kevin introduced us to. That we chased and chased and chased and begged and begged and begged. And then finally he said, hey, all right.
Josh Horowitz: Kevin… tell me a little bit why he was the guy for you.
Producer Kevin Feige: Well, I mean, he did such a great job on that film [Shang-Chi] for us. And it was such a great experience. And when you find people like that, like many of the people here, we want to keep them. We want to work with them. We want to keep working with them. And we were doing that with Destin. He did a show for us called Wonder Man. That is an excellent show. Awesome show. And he was working on a couple other movies for us when this sort of opened up and we realized maybe this would be the one. And I suggested Tom and Amy meet with him. And it went very, very, very well.
Josh Horowitz: Talk a little bit about where we find the characters at the start of this film.
Tom Holland: I think you really meet Peter Parker at the beginning of the darkest chapter of his life. You know, to me, the thing I love the most about the film is that it really represents, or it’s a cautionary tale for the dangers of living a life alone and not having a community, not having friends. And a lesson that he learned from Andrew’s character in the previous movie is that, you know, sometimes the bravest thing that you can do is ask for help. And he is actively ignoring that advice, and it is having a profound effect on his life as a human being. But then on the other side of that, as Spider-Man, he is thriving. You know, we’re probably seeing the most truthful version of what Spider-Man means to New York City at the beginning of this movie. And the smashing of those two worlds is such a fun thing for us to play with. You know, standing on the world stage and beaming and doing all of this amazing stuff to then coming home to a pretty grubby New York apartment and, you know, nursing a headache to go to sleep. Especially the scenes when we’re watching them on Instagram. It’s just so true to what young people are going through on a daily basis. So for me, I really kind of dove into this new idea because it just felt so relatable, so prevalent with what’s happening in the world. And I love telling a movie on this scale that is something that I really think will resonate with young people.
Josh Horowitz: For Zendaya and Jacob… does it feel like you’re like almost rebuilding the relationship with Peter from the start?
Jacob Batalon: Yeah, I think, unfortunately for Peter, you know, Ned and MJ live really great full lives. Yeah, but I think there’s also like that sort of veil of they do feel like something’s kind of missing. And I think, I guess like for Ned, really like the Spidey tracker thing is kind of like his way of finding like that missing link between them and Spider-Man. Like, why is he always trying to save their lives? For example, like, is he like stalking us? Or like, does he really like his vibe, you know, like that type of stuff for him. But I imagine for MJ it’s like a completely different sort of, just like a different.
Zendaya: Yeah, I don’t know. I feel like it was fun. We kind of describe it as like, you know, it’s like a fun acting exercise. Like, okay, do the scene, but now as if you’ve never met before, you know, but it’s, it was fun to investigate and think about like what their lives have been like without Peter. And also what, because, you know, for us, he never, he never existed, you know, but clearly there’s an effect of Peter on our lives. The fact that we are even friends and still kind of living in New York together must mean something to them, you know? And I think that, you know, in previous films, MJ was always the pessimist and it was Peter that was always the optimist. And so it’s interesting to see that reversal, you know, now that he’s alone, he’s kind of adopted that negativity and she’s adopted his positivity without even knowing it. So there’s clearly something still there. I mean, we always root for them and hope. And, you know, cause Peter is, he’s one of those characters you just love and you want them to make the right decisions. And I think to what you’re saying in the last film, he was kind of, he was, he was cautioned. He was warned by the other Spider-Men, men, what could happen. And I think in many ways, this film is grappling with those ideas and really confronting the things that they warned him about, you know? So I’m rooting for him.
Josh Horowitz: Talk to me a little bit, Jon, what it was like to finally mix it up in this way with your old buddy, Tom.
Jon Bernthal: Oh man. So grateful and really, really beautiful. I’ve said before the best thing about this business without a doubt is the folks that you get to meet along the way. And you know, he’s Tom’s top notch for me. And to have gotten to know him as a 17-year-old guy who is just on a mission to do this, and I had never seen the focus and the dedication and the belief. You know, he went and he got this thing. And then to sort of root him on from afar and to see what’s come of his life and this unbelievable franchise and so many people adore him. And then to become this unbelievable man and then to come back and step onto this set and to sort of see it fully realized, you know, from some dinky room in Ireland where we were slopping together these audition tapes.
Josh Horowitz: How does Frank Castle possibly fit into this role? Did you have questions?
Jon Bernthal: Sure, look, I’m enormously protective of Frank and, you know, the Punisher fans and what he stands for. And, you know, that was a real question for me. And it’s such a testament to Destin and to Amy and to Kevin and to Tom and this entire group. It was a concern for them, too. And I often think, you know, in art, when you get to sort of the crux of an issue, if you dive into it, if you don’t try to avoid it, if you don’t try to run away from it, or if you treat the audience with the respect that they’re also going to have an issue with it, you get something really great. And I’m so grateful to these guys that it was something that we explored and it was as important to them as it was to me. And I think what we set out to do is to make it believable that the Punisher could walk out of one of those TVMA shows and onto this set and vice versa. And I think you’re going to get that while also just paying respect to this unbelievable tone of this film and what Destin did.
Josh Horowitz: Sadie… talk to me a little bit about jumping into this world and how much were you… Did you get the full scope of this before you stepped on set?
Sadie Sink: I didn’t have the script for a while, but I talked to Destin a bunch about the character. So I had a good idea of where things were going. Yeah, but it’s quite the secret I’ve had to keep. But I’m such a fan of Spider-Man and these, Tom’s Spider-Man especially, so it feels very surreal to be joining.
Josh Horowitz: Can you say anything about just the challenge in general ways?
Producer Amy Pascal: The thing that is true for her character and every other character in the movie is that they’re all going through the same thing. They’re all going through the sense of isolation and feeling different and feeling alienated and feeling in denial about the lives that they’re living. And she’s a magnificent actress, as everyone knows. And because of the way that Destin made the movie, for Frank, for her, for MJ, for Ned, for Banner, everyone’s going through the same thing. They all have the same problem. And I think that was why it wasn’t hard for her to step into it.
Josh Horowitz: For Sadie, what is something you learned while filming this movie that surprised you?
Sadie Sink: I think a lot surprised me. It’s kind of overwhelming entering a new environment and for movies as big as these. So I guess what surprised me was how welcoming and relaxed it was and that speaks to everyone here. Yeah. So that was a good surprise.
Josh Horowitz: As we wrap up… For you Tom, I mean I’d just love to hear a little bit as we go out the meaning of this character now versus what it meant to you ten years ago and also the connection with the fans.
Tom Holland: I think the truth is, is that my passion and love for these movies has only grown with every time I’ve been lucky enough to don the suit. You know, our relationship as three young kids that, you know, our lives all changed on the same day and to go through that with these guys, I couldn’t be more grateful. To share the screen you know, with our new cast mates is such a blessing. And then the fans you know, everyone will agree with this, the fans are as much a part of this process as we are. You know, we make these movies for them we listen to them, you know there’s this amazing movement of young cinephiles around the world and they have such great ideas and they’re so passionate and we share that passion. So for me to get to be the lucky kid that stands on that stage and represent that passion is just a gift that I will never take for granted. And I’m so proud of this movie I’m so proud of Destin. You know, when he came in, it was a scary time. It was a scary time and he saved us. He sure did. And I just, and also I want to say about Sadie, Sadie had a really tough job coming into this, you know massive movie, you know, with an established family and she fit in so perfectly. She was so professional she has gives an absolutely wonderful performance and the emotion she brings, the professionalism, the heart it’s exactly what this movie needed. It’s a breath of fresh air. It’s something fresh and unique and we haven’t seen it before in one of these movies. So for me I think Sadie is an unsung hero because she can’t talk about anything about it. You’ll see it when you see the movie.
About Spider-Man: Brand New Day
It’s a BRAND NEW DAY for Peter Parker. Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesn’t remember him — and the pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him — sparks a change in Peter he may not have the power to control. But that transformation might also be the only thing that can stop a shocking new threat to the city and those he loves — a powerful villain no one can even see. The world may have forgotten Peter Parker, but he hasn’t forgotten them.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters on July 31st.
