‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ release was pushed back to allow Tom Holland to star in ‘The Odyssey’
Sony Pictures agreed to push back the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day in order to allow Tom Holland to star in The Odyssey, it has been revealed.
Holland has a busy summer of blockbusters ahead in 2026, with him starring as Telemachus, the son of Matt Damon’s Odysseus in the Christopher Nolan epic, being released on July 17th, before turning back to his Marvel roots in his seventh turn as Spider-Man, which hits cinemas on July 31st.
However, despite these close release dates, it now turns out that Spider-Man: Brand New Day was intended to be released a lot sooner than now, before Nolan threw a spanner in the works and asked Holland to star in The Odyssey.
In a new interview with GQ, Holland revealed that the planned filming schedules for the two films lined up exactly, “So I said to Chris, like, ‘Look, I want to do this movie, but if I’m going to do it, I’m going to have to call Sony and have a very uncomfortable conversation,’ ” he said.
However, in an unprecedented move, Sony agreed to the conditions, with Holland explaining: “I think one of the reasons why Sony were happy to move is because Chris has that reputation of ‘This movie isn’t going to go five months over, and we aren’t actually going to lose Tom for two years’. ”
As much as this was the case, the Hollywood star was quick to note: “Any other director, it might have been a slightly different conversation.”
Despite this, the delay had an unexpectedly positive effect on the Marvel film, as it allowed the production time to take on a new director in the form of Destin Daniel Cretton. “The Odyssey almost saved Spider-Man because we wouldn’t have had Destin,” according to Holland.
With the extra time this allowed them to develop the scripts, the actor said this led him to believe “that we’ve made the best version of any Spider-Man movie going. So while it was a tough pill to swallow for Sony, I think in hindsight, they’re very grateful that it happened.”
Despite being complimentary of his superhero roots, Holland seemingly expressed a preference for the type of film set he favours, as he jokingly added with regard to Nolan: “I think this will upset Marvel a little bit — his level of preparation is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.