Tom Holland Discusses Peter Parker, Flash Thompson Tension In Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man: Homecoming has promised to bring a slew of characters from the Spider-Man universe onto the big screen. One of the characters that fans have been most intrigued by – in part because he did not appear in the film’s first trailer – is Flash Thompson (The Grand Budapest Hotel’s Tony Revolori), Peter Parker‘s school bully and frequent adversary.

Eugene “Flash” Thompson – previously played by now-DCEU star Joe Manganiello in the Spider-Man trilogy and Chris Zylka in the Amazing Spider-Man series – has been a prominent part of the Spider-Man lore since his initial comic appearance in 1962.

However, as much has changed across Spider-Man media in the fifty-five years since it’s initial debut, so has the role of Flash Thompson in Peter Parker’s life, with him even suiting up in recent comics as both Venom and Agent Venom.

This evolution has not been lost on Tom Holland, who made his debut as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War and reprises the role in Homecoming. He recently addressed this shifting dynamic between the two characters, and why Revolori’s casting as Flash represents modern teen culture.

“American high schools are so different to British ones,” Holland explains in an interview with Short List magazine. “Bullying wasn’t really a thing, so when they cast Flash Thompson they knew they didn’t need a 6ft 5in jock to beat Peter Parker up. They needed a rich, smug kid commenting on how bad his trainers were.”

This reinterpretation of Flash as a character, while a departure from the alpha-male archetype he has been in previous incarnations, illustrates just how much Homecoming’s cast and crew want to portray a realistic representation of high school in their film. Holland even went undercover for three days at a New York high school in preparation for Homecoming, to help familiarize himself with the ways that culture operate.

“It was really fun, you know?” Holland revealed in a Facebook live stream in December. “It was so interesting because New York high schools are so different to the ones I went to in London.”

Holland added that another element of Homecoming was impacted by his research at the high school, mentioning that the opportunity allowed him to “practice [his] American accent.”

A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.

The cast features Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Bokeem Woodbine, with Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr.. It also includes Jon Favreau, Martin Starr, Kenneth Choi, Michael Mando, Selenis Leyva, Isabella Amara, Jorge Lendeborg, Jr., JJ Totah, Hannibal Buress, and Jacob Batalon.

The film is being directed by Jon Watts (Cop Car), based on a screenplay by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley (Vacation reboot) and Jon Watts & Christopher Ford and Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers.

MORE: Tom Holland Describes Worst Day Filming Spider-Man: Homecoming / Tom Holland Says Wearing Spider-Man Suit The First Time Was Disappointing / Domestic Trailer / International Trailer / First Look at Shocker / Iron Man Cameo Revealed / Spider-Man Has Wings! / Tom Holland Looking Forward To The Batman movie

Spider-Man: Homecoming will be released on July 7, 2017.

[HT] Reddit