Tom Holland and Zendaya's real-life bond shaped Spider-Man: Brand New Day filming
Spider-Man: Brand New Day stars Tom Holland and Zendaya used their real-life relationship to improve how certain scenes were shot in the upcoming superhero movie.
Tom Holland and Zendaya's real-life relationship made filming parts of Spider-Man: Brand New Day easier.
The couple reprise their roles as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and MJ respectively in the upcoming superhero blockbuster and Tom revealed how their bond meant that they could influence how some scenes were shot.
The 30-year-old star told Empire magazine: "There's a very important scene in the film where we were shooting it and I kind of looked across to Zendaya and was like, 'Do you think this scene is working?' She kind of looked back at me and was like, 'I don't....'
"If I didn't have the relationship with Zendaya that I have, I would never dream of saying to an actress after her close-up, 'Do you think this is working?'"
Zendaya, 29, suggested that this example showed how much the pair have grown since they first played the parts in the 2017 picture Spider-Man: Homecoming.
The Euphoria star said: "What's been really cool about this film particularly is, we were much younger and we weren't as involved (before).
"The films were kind of already formed before we started our part of it. But now Tom is incredibly connected to these films in a different way. He's a part of everything, every decision, bringing these characters back to our screens. He is so in tune. You'd struggle to find someone who understands these movies better than he does."
Spider-Man: Brand New Day – which is released in cinemas next month – sees the world unaware of Peter Parker's existence following the events of the previous film Spider-Man: No Way Home and Zendaya says it is "heartbreaking" to see how the webslinger and MJ have grown apart.
She said: "As someone who cares about the characters and cares about these films, it's like, 'Oh my God, it's so heartbreaking.'
"You just feel so bad because you want them to be happy, and you know ultimately they would be happier together."
The film's director Destin Daniel Cretton explained how he can relate to the "isolation" felt by Peter Parker after losing both of his grandparents and father in recent times.
The 47-year-old filmmaker said: "(I know) the feeling of isolation and the feeling that you're the only person in the world going through something.
"Particularly in the past few years, I lost my grandparents, who I was very close to, and my dad. And there's a trick of the brain that spins the story that all hope is lost and nobody can understand."
However, Cretton says he was lucky to have the support of his family during times of loss – unlike Peter Parker.
The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings helmer said: "I'm very grateful that through those losses, I was always surrounded by my wife and kids, my five siblings. I had a very strong community around me to keep my feet on the ground.
"But I have been in times in my life where I didn't have that, and it was much easier for me to spin out. That's the place we see Peter Parker in."
