The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a behemoth franchise, one that offers new content in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. One of the most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which will bring Tom Holland's title character back to theaters. Former director Jon Watts has offered some advice to future directors about how to film the hero's web slinging, but I'm kind of glad that newcomer Destin Daniel Cretton isn't listening.
What we know about Spider-Man: Brand New Day is limited, but production is officially underway. It'll mark the first entry in Tom Holland's franchise that isn't directed by Watts, with that honor instead going to Cretton (who previously helmed Shang-Chi). And the two filmmakers don't agree on how to film Spidey's web swinging for the big screen.
What Jon Watts Said About Practical Swinging.
Fans who have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order will recall how Watts did a killer job with the first three Spider-Man films. During a recent interview with Collider, he spoke about some of the lessons he learned while behind the camera. That includes how to capture Peter Parker's ability to swing through the air with his webs. He's not a fan of filming these sequences practically, and offered advice for future filmmakers on the matter. In his words:
I have a very practical bit of Spider-Man advice, and I think every Spider-Man director goes through it. It doesn't look good when someone is just swinging on a rope.
Well, he certainly didn't mince his words. Since he's filmed a total of three Spider-Man movies, Watts knows what he's talking about. And while the character was shown swinging around New York City and more, those sequences were brought together through visual effects. And as such, there was no one actually swinging on a rope during these blockbusters' productions.
In the same interview, Watts went on to explain how he eventually came to this conclusion. Namely by trying to do these scenes practically before realizing how "boring" it actually looks. In his words:
You think you're gonna go in there, you're like, 'we're gonna do it all practical. We're gonna get a stuntman. We're gonna be swinging around.' It's boring. It looks dumb. It looks like a monkey swinging on a vine when you put someone on just a rope.
I guess this makes sense. There's only so much stunt performers can pull off while swinging as Spider-Man, and it sounds like trying to film these sequences practically is time consuming and not worth it. He went on to say:
Don't waste your time. That's my advice to the next Spider-Man director.
That was definitely honest. Unfortunately for Jon Watts, it doesn't seem like Destin Daniel Cretton is taking this advice as he films Brand New Day. At least, according footage of production that's made its way online.
How Destin Daniel Cretton Is Handling Swinging In Brand New Day
After Spider-Man: No Way Home's ending, fans are eager to catch up with Peter Parker. After all, Doctor Strange's spell succeeded in erasing everyone's memory of him... including MJ and Ned. Luckily production is underway, and set photos and videos have revealed that Cretton is, in fact, shooting some of the web swinging practically. A video from TikTok showed a stunt performer on harnesses, swinging away as explosions ignite behind Spidey. And in the Shang-Chi director's defense, the clip looks pretty cool;
Hints that this was being done practically first popped up on Tom Holland's Instagram, which featured two shots of him filming in costume. He's shown to be hooked up to harnesses, hinting that he was doing more practical swinging. Check it out below:
With a new filmmaker in the director's chair, I have to assume that this is just the first of many changes that are happening with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. We'll just have to wait and see how this shakes up, and if fans like the new way that web swinging in particular is being handled.
All will be revealed when Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters a year from now on July 31st as part of the 2025 movie release list. We'll just have to wait and see what the Shang-Chi director has planned for this superhero flick.
