Meet Peter Parker. You know him, of course; he’s the crime-fighter by night, high-schooler by day that’s headlined Marvel’s Spider-Man saga for generations and in 2017, director Jon Watts will deliver what is arguably shaping up to be one of the more faithful adaptations of Parker yet in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Unlike previous feature films, Homecoming will roll back the years to follow Peter Parker as he navigates life in high school. Juggling homework and bullies with pummeling baddies and saving the city, Marvel’s new take on the character is something Tom Holland has embraced with arms wide open and here, while chatting to ShortList Magazine (via CBM), the British actor touched base on Parker’s educational woes and the infamous bully known as Flash Thompson.
“American high schools are so different to British ones. 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. And I did it to practice my American accent.”
When quizzed about his experience working opposite Michael Keaton, who’s primed to terrorize Parker and the remainder of NYC as the Vulture, Holland revealed that the former Dark Knight was, er, a joker on set, often reciting Batman lines in between takes.
“Pretty cool. He’s a badass. We have a fight in the movie and I punch him. He turns around and says [in a deep voice], ‘I’m Batman.’ He kept doing Batman quotes on set.”
Spider-Man: Homecoming is pegged for release on July 7th.