Spider-Man: No Way Home Star Tom Holland Got in Trouble for Repeatedly Calling Movie “Brutal”

Spider-Man: No Way Home was released back in December, and it’s already become the sixth highest-grossing movie of all time. There are many reasons the movie has been a big draw for crowds, most notably the film’s cast, which featured many returning actors from past Spider-Man films, including former Spider-Men, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Ultimately, the movie was pretty devastating and ended with some harrowing deaths as well as Tom Holland’s Peter Parker ending up alone. During the movie’s press tour, Holland warned fans that the movie was going to be “brutal.” During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Holland revealed that those claims got him in trouble. 

“We all felt like we were saying goodbye to these characters that we had been playing for the last seven years because we’re uncertain about what the future of Spider-Man might be,” Holland explained. “So it felt like a goodbye. Obviously, it’s not a goodbye in real life because we’re all going to be connected as we are. But it was tough; it was really tough. And those emotional scenes are just difficult. When you make these big films, you don’t shoot scenes in a couple hours; you shoot them over a couple days. So when you commit to a crying scene, you’re crying for two days, flat out, and it’s tiring. But Jon Watts is a great director, he’s a very generous director, and he’s very understanding of the acting process. So he was fantastic.”

Holland continued, “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.”

During a recent chat with Marvel.com, Holland and Zendaya talked more about the movie’s intense ending.

“I actually hate we’re in these interviews like, ‘This movie’s so fun!’” Zendaya explained. “I cried throughout the whole movie. And the first thing I said when we finished was, ‘This is awfully sad.’” Holland added, “It’s brutal … It’s tough. It’s bittersweet.”

“Is it though? Because it’s very much just bitter,” Zendaya replied. “Like I’m not getting the sweet part.” Holland went on to say that Peter is “starting a new chapter.”  Holland started to explain, “And he’s cleared his name. He’s free of all that stuff. And the people that he loves-“

“He’s lost everyone he loves,” Zendaya cut in. Holland then finished, “The people that he loves are safe, and they’re alive.” Zendaya argued that since they live in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “They’re never safe!” Holland finally gave in and admitted, “It’s very sad, the ending.” 

“I’m sorry,” Zendaya continued, before sharing that she wanted Peter and MJ “to go to college [together].” Holland replied, “I wanted them to have a happy ending … We’re still here, we’re feeling good. We’re proud of the movie. It would have been so nice for them to go to college, and just swing off into the sunset. Unfortunately, this is the way it is.”

“There’s going to be a lot of really upset little kids that are going to be like, [mimics wailing],” Zendaya joked. Holland ends the interview with a little positivity, adding, “We may be teaching young kids a lesson they might not be ready for. But, [at least the movie’s] entertaining.”

Spider-Man: No Way Home is still playing in theaters.