Tom Holland thinks his Spider-Man movies can learn from The Odyssey by "finding ways to make people believe what they're watching is real"
"With every movie you make, you learn lessons," Holland, who plays Odysseus' son Telemachus in the adaptation of the Greek epic, tells GamesRadar+ at a press day for The Odyssey in London. "You find ways of working that are new that you might like, and [some] you don't."
Nolan's propensity for practicality, including utilizing the latest in IMAX technology, building a real Trojan Horse, and instructing his actors to sail, clearly rubbed off on Holland, who is set to star in his fourth MCU Spider-Man movie, Brand New Day, later in July.
"[Christopher Nolan]'s desire to be practical and to keep things in camera creates an atmosphere on-set which really inspires people to be creative and think outside the box," Holland says. "There are things I saw on this movie which I've never seen before and they're very simple. It just requires forward thinking and planning."
Holland, one of the veterans of superhero cinema with over half-a-dozen movies under his spandex belt, even admitted that his time globetrotting on The Odyssey with some of the business will shape his thinking the next time he plays Spidey – and he aims to pay it forward.
The actor remarks, "I come from the kind of superhero space, which I absolutely adore. I love playing [Spider-Man]. I think there are things that we could do in the future that can improve those movies by being more practical and finding ways to make people believe that what they're watching is real."
To that end, Holland reveals the ways Spider-Man: Brand New Day was influenced by his team on The Odyssey: "We've made a real suit, and we did real stunts, stuff like that."
Holland concludes, "I think that lots of people can learn from what Chris is able to do."
The Odyssey opens in cinemas on July 17.
For more, check out more of 2026's big movie release dates and our beginner's guide to The Odyssey. Then relive some of Nolan's classics with our ranking of the best Christopher Nolan movies.
