Nearly 10 years ago and after various Spider-Man movies had been made, Sony and Marvel Studios reached a historic licensing agreement. Under this deal for the Spidey movie rights, the hero was to be integrated into the Disney-owned company’s cinematic universe.Tom Holland was cast as the character and, in 2016, he made his big-screen debut as the wall-crawler in Captain America: Civil War. Holland’s first Spidey solo film was set for release the following year, and he went to great lengths to prepare, even going undercover at a high school.
Spider-Man: Homecoming sent the character of Peter Parker back to the classroom and ultimately proved to be a delightful teenage-centric romp filled with comic book goodness. Given the film’s scholastic backdrop, it was quite appropriate that the Billy Elliot: The Musical alum attended an institution to prepare for the superhero film. The London native spoke a bit about the experience years ago, though we’re going to get a bit into the nitty gritty here. So let’s swing on into this awesome story, shall we?
How Did Tom Holland’s Venture Into A U.S.-Based High School Come To Be?
Those who’ve watched the Marvel movies in order and have tracked Peter Parker’s journey probably know that the young do-gooder attended Midtown School of Science and Technology. Considering the specific kind of experience that comes with attending a technical school, Marvel Studios sought such a place of learning to help the In the Heart of the Sea star prep. The company landed on The Bronx High School of Science and, to help set the plan in motion, they reached out to a student.
Marvel Studios got in touch with Arun Bishop, a senior at the school during that time, as it wanted Tom Holland to shadow a STEM student taking advanced courses. When approached with the offer, Bishop – a robotics savant and self-professed superhero fan – was up for it, despite his indifference towards the world of celebrities. He shared his personal thoughts on the matter with Business Insider in 2017:
I've never been huge on celebrities. I never followed that sort of stuff. But I thought it'd be a really cool experience.
A lot had to be done to get the-then rising actor into the school without drawing attention. The backstory established was that Tom Holland, while using an American accent, would pose as Arun Bishop’s cousin, Ben, whose father was a military man recently stationed in New York. That would explain how the new “student” was admitted to the school without an entrance exam. Despite a near-mishap involving an ID card, the plan for Holland to spend a few days taking in the U.S. tech high school experience had begun.
What Did Tom Holland Due During His Undercover High School Assignment And What Has He Said Since?
You may be tempted to believe that Tom Holland’s venture into high school was cushy, but that wasn’t the case. The actor really did have to attend classes during his few days there. And, given that Arun Bishop was in advanced courses, that meant that Holland had to take in the likes of AP calculus AB, experimental engineering and AP British Literature (the third of which I also took in high school). As Sean O’Connell noted in his book, With Great Power, Holland previously explained that his lack of science knowledge led to some trick situations:
Some of the teachers didn’t even know. It was a science school, and I am in no way a science student. Some of the teachers would call me up in front of the class and try to get me to do science equations and stuff. I was so embarrassing!
Had I found myself in his shoes, I probably would’ve felt just as out of place as he did. Nevertheless, the How I Live Now alum powered through and observed his surroundings accordingly. What’s also interesting is that near the end of his stint at The Bronx High School of Science, the star attempted to reveal his true identity to some of the students. Some students were excited upon finding out but, as the Cherry star mentioned to Variety years ago, not everyone was convinced he was a celebrity:
I told one person on the last day and it spread like wildfire. This girl was like, ‘what’s your deal?’ And I said, ‘I’m Spider-Man.’ She didn’t believe me. She just thought I was a nutter.
Considering the humor with which Tom Holland recalled that, one would think that Tom Holland didn’t take too much offense to that. Besides, recognition was the key to all of that, of course, as the goal was for the entertainer to get a taste of high school. He was indeed successful and eventually went off to shoot what would become the 16th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
How Did Spider-Man: Homecoming Ultimately Perform?
There was a lot of anticipation surrounding the first look at Spider-Man: Homecoming, and when the first trailer dropped in late 2016, the high school vibes were real. And, thankfully, the Jon Watts’ film delivered on that promise, as the film was chock full of teen spirit and shades of some John Hughes comedies. (Some may even remember that the film includes a neighborhood chase sequence inspired by Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.) The MCU film ultimately received praise from fans and critics, with CinemaBlend’s Homecoming review also rewarding the film high marks.
And, yes, it was also a box office hit, grossing over $880 million against a reported $170 million budget. Tom Holland and all those involved with the movie seemed proud, including Arun Bishop, who admitted that he “bragged a little” once the film started raking in the cash. I mean, hey, he was important to pre-production. Quite frankly, I find this high school trip to be one of the coolest behind-the-scenes stories about an MCU production. Kudos to everyone involved for pulling off this undercover operation.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is available to stream with a Disney+ subscription. Also, be sure to read up on upcoming Marvel movies.
