Most of you likely know Tom Holland best for playing Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that makes sense given the comic book franchises popularity. But Holland has been able to stretch his acting muscles in plenty of other roles, and his next feature, Cherry, sees him standing incredibly far away from the superhero corner of his career. Rather than foiling bank robberies, his character is the one committing them.
Based on the same-named book by Nico Walker (who based the story on his own life), Cherry follows Tom Holland as a 23-year-old Army veteran who comes home traumatized from his time in combat, including hearing a “noise” in his head. Before he went off to war, Holland’s Cherry was in a romantic relationship with Ciara Bravo’s Emily, and she’s back to being by his side when he returns to the United States. However, their life does not revert to how is was before he joined the military.
Diagnosed with PTSD and becoming addicted to opioids, Cherry turns to bank robbing in order to pay for his addiction. The trailer lays out how he has these crimes down to a fine art and science, including not being rude to the women he holds at gunpoint at the banks. Tom Holland’s character also says several times in the preview that he feels like he’s already seen everything that’s going to happen to him, but at the very end, he adds that it’s a “nightmare.” We, the viewers, though, will just have to wait and see if Cherry manages to overcome both his real-life troubles and inner demons, or if they will get the best of him.
Cherry marks Tom Holland’s third collaboration with directors Joe and Anthony Russo, with the three having previously worked on Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Angela Russo-Otstot and Jessica Goldberg tackled the Cherry screenplay, and the movie’s cast also includes Jack Reynor, Michael Rispoli, Forrest Goodluck, Michael Gandolfini and Thomas Lennon, among others. Joe Russo revealed earlier this month that Tom Holland lost “almost a quarter of his body weight” to get into character.
While it initially seemed like Cherry would be a traditional theatrical release, Apple Original Films acquired the project in September 2020, with the deal reportedly landing in the high $40 millions. So while you will still be able to see Cherry on the big screens (assuming you live near a movie theater that’s open in these difficult times), it will be made available on Apple TV+ soon after. Following Cherry’s release, Tom Holland has Chaos Walking, Uncharted and the next MCU-set Spider-Man movie lined up for later in 2021.
Cherry kicks off its theatrical run on February 26, and you can catch it on Apple TV+ starting March 12. Keep track of the other movies set to arrive later this year with our 2021 release schedule.
