'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' fuels mystery over Marvel cameos

For Tom Holland, Sony's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," based on the famous Marvel Comics web-slinging character, tells a different kind of superhero story—one centered on vulnerability.

"The movie kind of serves as this cautionary tale about living a life alone, the importance of community, and how sometimes the bravest thing to do in life is to ask for help," the "Odyssey" actor told Reuters in New York.

"It's definitely more grounded; it's grittier, it's more emotional, but that doesn't mean we sacrifice the humor and the fun," Holland added.

Directed by Destin Yori Daniel Cretton, the film takes place a few years after the events of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which was directed by Jon Watts.

In the new installment, Peter Parker grapples with the fallout from a spell cast by fellow superhero Doctor Strange, which caused everyone to forget both his existence and his identity as Spider-Man.

Among those impacted are Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson, Peter's girlfriend, played by Holland's real-life wife, Zendaya, and his best friend Ned, played by Jacob Batalon. Both characters have no memory of the time they spent with Peter.

As Spider-Man navigates his new reality, he finds an unlikely ally in the vigilante The Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal, marking a crossover from the Marvel series "Daredevil" as well as Netflix's "The Punisher."

Despite a rocky start, the two characters eventually form a bond.

"I think it's always interesting when you have two characters who are just trying to push everything away. That's sort of the opposite of what being a human being is, and sometimes it just sort of takes over, and all of a sudden you find yourself caring about someone you swore you never would," Bernthal said.

The Punisher is one of several Marvel characters making appearances in the film. Others include the assassin Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh, and Bruce Banner/The Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo.

Despite widespread fan theories, one mystery remains unresolved: the identity of the character portrayed by "Stranger Things" actor Sadie Sink. Sink said keeping the secret was easy until she had to begin promoting the film.

"Now that I have to talk about it all day, it is a little bit more difficult than I thought," she said.

Cretton, who helmed "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" and executive produced Marvel's "Wonder Man," said he hopes audiences will still be surprised by the film's unexpected moments.

"Trying to figure out the puzzle beforehand is fun and exhilarating and creates anticipation. But I do hope that people don't look too hard, because the experience of watching it on the big screen in a room full of people—it's great to still have a lot of surprises for them," he said.

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" arrives in theaters on July 31.

-Reporting by Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway; Editing by Stephen Coates/Reuters