Tom Holland is pulling double duty this summer by starring in two highly anticipated films: The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. And he’s revealing how he made sure not to miss Christopher Nolan’s epic.
In the newest GQ cover story, alongside The Odyssey co-stars Matt Damon and Robert Pattinson, Holland reflected on how he had to call Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman, which is one of the studios behind the film, and persuaded the studio head to push Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s production so he could film Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey first, as the filming dates conflicted.
“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,’ ” the 30-year-old actor said.
Luckily for Holland, Rothman agreed.
“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.’ Any other director, it might have been a slightly different conversation.”
And it worked out, since The Odyssey finished nine days early. The extra time also allowed the franchise to hire Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) as its director.
“The Odyssey almost saved Spider-Man because we wouldn’t have had Destin. He wouldn’t have been ready to make the movie when we were ready to go. We wouldn’t have had the six-month period to develop the script with Destin to get it to a place where it is now,” he said. “I truly 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.”
Up first for Holland is The Odyssey, set to release July 17, following Matt Damon’s Odysseus on a dangerous voyage back to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Holland will play Telemachus, Odysseus’ son.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the fourth film in Holland’s lead movies, slated for release on July 31. The film takes place in the aftermath of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, in which Peter Parker’s identity was erased from people’s memories. Holland stars alongside his financée Zendaya and Jon Bernthal in both films.
Elsewhere in the GQ interview, Pattinson noted that he wanted to read the script before accepting the project, while implying that no one else had.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, can’t wait to read it,’” Pattinson recalled before he said how Nolan responded, “He’s like, ‘You want to read it? Everyone else just said yes.’ ”