Director Destin Daniel Cretton on making Spider-Man grow up

The superhero business isn't what it used to be.After 2008's Iron Man and the spawn of cinematic universes, it seemed as though nothing could stop the juggernaut of superhero blockbusters. As we marched into the 2010s, Marvel lore-expanders like Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther consistently made billions. Avengers: Endgame remains the second highest-grossing movie of all time, pulling in an eye-watering $US2.799 billion dollar box office when it was released in 2019.Despite constantly fighting to get out of Marvel's cinematic shadow, DC's gloomier fare like The Dark Knight Rises and Joker gained their billion badge; even critically trashed editions like 2018's Aquaman splashed over the billion-dollar threshold.But then at the turn of the decade, the world stopped for COVID. Even when cinemas were able to open their doors again, safe-bet sequels such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever didn't live up to its predecessors, and adventures into more prestige output like Eternals and The Marvels crashed spectacularly. Star-stuffed vehicles like Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts (or The New Avengers, to give it the marketing-approved name) didn't quite reach intended impact.Only two superhero movies have grossed over $US1 billion worldwide in the 2020s; 2023's R-rated Deadpool & Wolverine and 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home.So, no pressure for Destin Daniel Cretton, director of No Way Home follow up, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The filmmaker isn't going in blind though; he was plucked by Marvel Studios in 2019 to direct Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings before sliding into TV with Wonder Man, a series he directs and co-created, which lead to an Emmy nomination for its lead Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.Already attached to an as-so-far untitled Shang-Chi sequel, the superhero genre might have changed since it re-wrote the box office rule book but Cretton is just getting started.Spiderman: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton (second from right) with his cast, writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommors and producer Amy Pascal. (Getty: Tim P. Whitby)Brand New Day is such a highly anticipated project. When you're in the 11th hour, moments before opening what are the thoughts rushing through your head?I just can't wait for people to see it.I cannot wait to be in the theatre and see all of the decisions that we made and see reactions to these incredible performances for the first time. It's the completion of a long cycle, to something on screen that feels so personal to me, is really one of the biggest emotional highs of my life.And it does feel — I don't know — it feels very intimate and it feels like it gives me hope.What is your earliest memory of Spider-Man?I grew up on Maui, so I wasn't exposed too much to really any kind of pop culture. My parents didn't really allow us to watch too much TV, so I spent most of my time outside with my five siblings playing in the pineapple fields and in the mud puddles near our house.But somehow Spider-Man made it into my life through just a couple of comics that I was able to see at my friend's house. My mum has a picture of me and my older brother when I was about six years old, and I'm wearing a Spider-Man tank top and my older brother's wearing a Hulk tank top and we're just in our backyard in Haiku, Maui.I just find it fascinating that that character somehow made its way across the Pacific Ocean to this tiny island in the middle of nowhere. And that was still the character that I wanted to pretend to be. So it's crazy to be sitting in this chair right now.Mark Ruffalo returns as Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk, in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. (Supplied: Sony Pictures)You've been helming these superhero projects for a while, but you have a background in indie drama. I loved I Am Not a Hipster, by the way. What is something that you bring from those independent days that helps you on these massive studio productions?I love that you mentioned I Am Not a Hipster. The same director of photography, Brett Pawlak, who did Hipster, is also on Spider-Man.Doing small indies is like, that is what I psychologically want to do, that's where I want my brain to always be. It's a place where creatively you take risks, you don't think about outcomes, you don't think about millions of people watching every decision that you make. There's a purity to that form; there's like a childlike freedom to the creative process when you're making movies at that level.That's what I strive for, at least my DP and I would often reference that movie as something to strive to be with our decision making.Destin Daniel Cretton with his long-time collaborator Brett Pawlak (left), with actor Adam Shapiro promoting their 2009 film Short Term 12. (Getty: Charley Gallay)You're also a prolific screenwriter on a lot of the projects you direct. What was the experience directing something that you hadn't written this time?Well, the writers' room in movies like this is still very collaborative.I was in the writers' room with our writers for months in prep as we were getting ready to shoot. It was an amazing experience with Chris [McKenna] and Erik [Sommors], they're incredible writers and they're very collaborative. We kind of just come up with scenes and then they go off and write it.So in the end, it just feels like the movie is very much ours. It's a very team effort. And then once we got into production, our other screenwriter, Justin, came on board and he helped us all the way through production to the end.It was a real joy to work with, with these, all of these incredible writers.One of the more heartbreaking aspects of the movie is MJ not remembering Peter at all. What is it like directing Tom Holland and Zendaya as strangers when they have such an established connection on and off screen?I mean, they are incredible actors, as I'm sure you know. So it's, once you're in a scene, you're just directing actors who know what they're doing. But it was kind of fun to see Jacob and Zendaya ignoring Tom on set while we were shooting.And you know, I think there were times where it did kind of hurt his feelings, not in a real way, but it's not fun to watch your friends getting close when you have to be the outsider.MJ (Zendaya) doesn't remember Peter Parker or their relationship in Brand New Day. (Supplied: Sony Pictures)It felt like in previous films, a teenage Peter was grappling with responsibility but now he is this young adult, he's facing consequences. Why is it important for audiences to see Spider-Man mature?Well, I think it'd be just a natural progression of the story. The audience is ready to see Peter and MJ enter the next stage in their life. It makes sense as we've left that last movie with a very big cliffhanger, and now we're four years later. So, there's a very clear reset button and it felt nice to start this next movie with some more mature subject matter. Some emotions that are connected to what many of us go through in our twenties when we leave university.Spider-Man in Brand New Day develops organic webbing in a throwback to Sam Raimi's early 2000s trilogy. (Supplied: Sony Pictures)You no longer have the shelter of a set schedule, that a school allows you, you're not under your parents' roof anymore. It's like, life just slams you in the face and it's hard. And sometimes it's lonely. You're saying goodbye to friends that you saw every single day, and some of them move on with their lives. So all of these emotions I think are incredibly relatable. I think for me, exploring them through the lens of Peter Parker was a very fulfilling experience.Final question, why does the world still need superhero movies right now?I feel like the world needs this movie right now because what Peter Parker is going through, I think, is something that many people can relate to at this moment.I think it's very easy to feel the confusion of being surrounded by thousands and thousands of people, of thousands of comments and likes and people looking at your photos or your videos and Peter Parker is living in the middle of a city surrounded by millions of people, and he still feels entirely alone.I think it's very easy right now to have many relationships but it's more difficult to have deep relationships and to have deep connections with other people.I think the experience of sitting in a theatre and watching this movie with your friends or your loved ones or a group of strangers, I think this movie has the ability to bring people together. This experience of going through this movie is exhilarating, funny, fun, but also healing. I find it to be a journey that makes me want to connect with my loved ones or just the stranger sitting beside me.I hope that other people get to have that experience as well.Some quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.