Tom Holland Teases An Unexpected A-List Writer Behind Spider-Man 4’s Final Draft

If you thought you were up to speed on who's steering the script for the next Spider-Man film, prepare for a bit of a curveball. Turns out, there was a last-minute writer swap that not many people spotted coming. Here's the whole odd little backstory straight from Tom Holland himself, and frankly, it's more interesting than most press-release-friendly behind-the-scenes fluff.

The Usual Suspects… and an Unexpected Addition

From the outside, 'Spider-Man 4' – officially titled 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' – looked like business as usual, with Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers on script duties. If you've kept tabs on Marvel's film machine, you'll recognise those names. But apparently, when it came down to the final polish, another writer quietly joined the party: Justin Kuritzkes.

Kuritzkes might not be a household name in superhero circles, but cinephiles will know him as the writer behind 'Challengers' and 'Queer' – he actually wrote 'Challengers' for Zendaya, which probably explains how his name cropped up on this project right when the production hit a creative snag.

What Actually Happened on Set?

Tom Holland spilled this particular cup of tea during a chat with Amy Poehler, describing a sort of classic 'Is this actually working?' moment during filming. He and Zendaya were in the middle of a scene that, by all accounts, just felt a bit rubbish. Holland confronted Zendaya first, and things went from there.

'I said to her, "Do you think that this scene is working?" And she was like, "No, I don't think this scene is working at all."'

'So, I then went to the producers and asked, "Do you think the scene is working?" And they said, "No."'

So, pretty unanimous. No hiding behind ego or studio PR here – the scene was officially labelled a stinker. Holland did the sensible thing and raised it with the film's director, Destin Daniel Cretton. Now, Cretton has a reputation for staying chill even when everything's going sideways, which is exactly what happened next.

How the Rewrite Went Down

• Holland suggests to Cretton that the scene is simply not working.
• Rather than power through, Cretton sends the entire crew home mid-shoot.
• Cretton and Kuritzkes (who'd been brought in as the resident rewrite wizard) sit down to rework the dialogue and structure overnight.
• New script in hand, everyone returns the next day to shoot the improved scene.
• Holland reckons it's one of the best calls they made, saying the scene now 'sings' on film.

In Holland's words: 'We came in the next day, we reshot the scene, and I'm so glad that we did because it sings in the movie.' No ego, just a bit of creative honesty and a quick studio pivot – which in big-budget superhero world is, frankly, braver than it sounds.

Who is Justin Kuritzkes, Anyway?

If you missed his name on the credits, that's understandable. Kuritzkes is best known so far for 'Challengers' and the upcoming adaptation of 'Queer', both projects with strong critical buzz and a bit of indie flair. The fact that Zendaya has worked with him before seems to have made the sudden switch smoother – and from Holland's account, his contribution was anything but minor.

'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' hits UK cinemas on 31 July. Apparently, thanks to some late-night script surgery, at least one pivotal scene will be vastly better than it almost was.