Tom Holland, one of Marvel’s biggest finds in recent years, returns as the ‘friendly neighbourhood superhero’, Spider-Man.
Only this time, his character Peter Parker is far from his neighbourhood. In Far From Home, Peter is on a school trip to Europe, where he comes face-to-face with some mysterious elements.
With Nick Fury roping him in again to save the world, also supported by Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), Peter has a huge task at hand, while he also tries to figure out his personal commitments to Michelle MJ (Zendaya).
Far From Home follows the stunning events in Avengers: Endgame, and sees Tom fighting a personal loss, that of mentor Tony Stark. Billed as a bigger movie than the prequel, Homecoming, Far From Home has already received positive reviews during early releases, with Tom and Jake’s performances seeming to have impressed everyone.
Ahead of the release of this blockbuster, we caught up with Tom who digs deep into the mind of Peter, while sharing scoops from the set as well about the new Stealth Suit.
Excerpts from the chat:
Has Peter Parker grown up at all?
I think we are seeing a very similar Peter Parker to the one we saw in Spider-Man: Homecoming. I really enjoyed in the first one, the aspect of seeing a teen with superpowers, I really want that to come across again. He is still a 16-year-old, who just wants to enjoy himself.
What has come as a surprise with the sequel?
The fact that we get to shoot it in London was a nice surprise. I shot Spider-Man: Homecoming thousands of miles away and this one is called Spider-Man: Far from Home and I’m 40 minutes from my home.
I am actually not staying at my home; it’s still a bit of a drive to set. The script presented this massive-scale movie, but it was also a pleasure to read something that you know will surprise the audience too.
How do you feel about doing nearly all your own stunts?
I don’t do everything. There are some things that I just can’t do and I am very happy for my double to do it, if he can do it better.
If there is a version of the stunt where it just looks better with him doing it, then he should do it for the sake of the movie.
But sometimes there are things where we can just rehearse it and work really hard. I love doing my own stunts. It comes with a nice adrenaline rush. If it makes the film better, then I am all for it.
Is there anything in particular that you are really excited for fans to see?
The action is bigger than the first one for sure. But the film is definitely bigger than the first one.
The action in the first one, we were able to keep it quite contained — I don’t feel like it was a worldwide event.
This one, with Spider-Man unable to keep these events a secret, is far more global after the events of Avengers: Endgame. So the spotlight really is on Spider-Man, whereas in the first one I felt he was flying under the radar, which was quite nice.
What is the dynamic like with Nick Fury and what has working with Samuel L Jackson been like?
Working with Sam is great, really, really fun. I have been such a big fan of his, not just since the beginning of the MCU but very early on in my life, with Pulp Fiction.
It is an interesting character to see on the screen with Peter Parker, because obviously, Peter is kind of upbeat and Nick Fury is so scary, kind of like Robert Downey Jr, just without the sass. It’s been a fun ride.
What is Peter’s relationship like with MJ?
It’s really cool. We get to see in more detail, a relationship blossom, than we did in the first one between Peter and Liz.
It’s been fun, really fun. MJ’s character is the same as she was in Homecoming, but we are just exploring it more.
I think audiences will really connect with her and the way that Zendaya is playing the role will broaden the amount of people who can relate to her character.
Tell us about shooting with Jake Gyllenhaal? You seem to be surrounded by ‘veterans’ all the time.
I am very lucky with the people I get to work with. I have these meetings with my agent every year, we sit down and go through a list of actors I would like to work with, and a list of directors I would like to work with, and Jake has already been on the list.
So the fact that we get to do it in this circumstance is fantastic. He’s amazing. Every actor I have ever worked with has a switch.
When they say action you can tell that they are acting. But Jake doesn’t have that. He’s seamless in and out of character.
Sometimes it is quite disconcerting because you think he was just talking to you, then you realise he was doing the scene just then. I have learned a lot.
How has it been contending with a different kind of villain this year?
Yeah, it’s interesting, because when Jon first pitched the idea to me, I thought, wow, fighting big monstrous elemental creatures, that is a big jump from the Vulture.
But when you see the effects and what they are planning to do with these monsters it really is quite a breathtaking feat.
Peter Parker has the same thought as I had when I found out it was monsters, he really doesn’t understand what is going on, and how Spidey can defeat them in this post-Avengers: Endgame world.
It is not until later when he is hanging out with Nick Fury and Maria Hill, and then Mysterio that they team together to piece together this crazy thing that is going on.
The Elemental Creatures are definitely an exciting version of the villain.
Spider-Man: Far From Home in theatres now.