Tom Holland reveals ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ explores Peter Parker’s ‘darkest chapter’: ‘It’s so true to what young people are going through’ |

Fresh out of the success of ‘The Odyssey’, Hollywood star, Tom Holland will soon be shedding the body armour to don the Spidey suit once again in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’.Five years after ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, Holland will return in fighting form to take on the role of Peter Parker, this time, to offer fans a more intimate exploration of loneliness, identity and growing up. Speaking during the film’s press conference, attended by ETimes, the actor opened up about how this fourth instalment in the franchise will be the ‘darkest’ and ‘most authentic’ one yet. Tom Holland on ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’“I think you really meet Peter Parker at the beginning of the darkest chapter of his life,” Holland said while reflecting on how Spider-Man is being celebrated as the hero of New York City, but Peter Parker is quietly falling apart. “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.“For Holland, Brand New Day builds directly on the lesson Peter received from Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man in No Way Home—that asking for help is sometimes the bravest thing a person can do. Unfortunately, he says, “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.”Tom Holland on bringing the most ‘truthful’ version of Spider-Man“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,” he explained and went on to add, “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 (MJ and Ned) on Instagram.“Linking the film to everyday realities, he said, “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 will resonate with young people.”Jacob Batalon on Ned and Peter Parker’s friendshipThe press conference also saw co-stars Zendaya and Jacob Batalon also discuss how the film rebuilds the relationships between the famed trio – Peter, MJ and Ned – following the events of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, where Doctor Strange’s spell erased Peter Parker from everyone’s memory.Reflecting on where Ned is at the beginning of the film, Batalon joked, “Yeah, I think unfortunately for Peter, you know, Ned and MJ live really great full lives.”However, he added that “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?”“But I imagine for MJ it’s like a completely different sort of, just like a different…” he added, prompting Zendaya to say, “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 was fun to investigate and think about like what their lives have been like without Peter. ‘Cause, you know, for us, he never existed, 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.”Zendaya on the emotional bond between MJ and PeterThe actress also teased an emotional shift in MJ’s personality, revealing, “And I think that, 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.”

Despite the memory wipe, Zendaya hinted that the emotional bond between the characters did not completely get erased. “So there’s clearly something still there. We always root for them and hope, because Peter is one of those characters you just love and you want them to make the right decisions.”‘Brand New Day’ linked to ‘No Way Home’She concluded by suggesting that ‘Brand New Day’ will have a direct link to ‘No Way Home’ and the warnings Peter received. “He was warned by the other Spider-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, but…” she said and laughed before adding one final tease about Peter’s future, “Not looking good.“