CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Thursday, June 20, 2019 | 19 LIFE The latest flick from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider­Man: Far From Home, will be released in China on June 28. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Back in the swing of things Spider­Man swoops into Beijing to promote his second solo cinematic outing, Xu Fan reports. erely two months after Why not? The thing that’s fun for me he appeared in the is to get Spider­Man out of his com­ smash hit Avengers: fort zone and to take him to places Endgame, one of Mar­ where we’ve never seen him before. Mvel’s most iconic superheroes will So really, anything is possible.” swing back into Chinese theaters for Compared with Marvel’s other his second solo big screen outing. superheroes, Spider­Man — who Spider­Man: Far From Home, the made his first comic book appear­ latest flick from the Marvel Cinemat­ ance in 1962 — is more widely ic Universe, will be released in China regarded as a friendly neighbor­ in multiple formats, including Imax hood hero. 3D, on June 28 — four days earlier “I have always tried to enter the than North America. Spider­Man stories from as real an With English actor Tom Holland emotional perspective as I can,” reprising the role of Peter Parker, aka says Watts, adding that he takes Spider­Man, for the fifth time, the Parker as “just one of us” and “the new film follows on directly from most relatable person” in Marvel’s Endgame and we see Peter still complicated universe, which also mourning the passing of his mentor, features heroes rooted in mytholo­ Tony Stark. gy or hailing from faraway fictional The young web­slinger leaves his planets. neighborhood in Queens, New York, Echoing the director’s words, Hol­ to travel to Europe for a school vaca­ land says: “Tony Stark is a billion­ tion, where he meets Quentin Beck, aire, Thor is a god and Captain aka Mysterio, a superpowered being America is a biologically­altered who says he comes from an alternate super soldier. Peter Parker, though, Earth. is just a kid.” Teaming up with Beck, Parker is He explains that, as most of us determined to stop four monsters, have high school experiences, such known as Elementals — each of as talking to their crushes for the which represents one of the four ele­ first time and being late doing ments of earth, air, water and fire — homework, the Spider­Man films setting him on the path to his biggest are “basically about grounding this challenge and most epic adventure fantastic character in the fantastic yet. MCU and making him as real as pos­ Last week, Holland, American sible”. actor Jake Gyllenhaal, who stars as Recently turning 23 years old, Mysterio, and director Jon Watts Holland also reveals that the best visited Beijing to promote the part of growing up with his charac­ upcoming film. During an event to ter is that he has been able to travel warm up local fans, Gyllenhaal sang around the world, especially men­ a song to celebrate the birthday of tioning his visit to the Great Wall one attendee, while Holland sent during his 2017 tour to China. his best wishes to Chinese high­ For Gyllenhaal, a star credited for school students striving to earn hits such as Brokeback Mountain high scores in the national college and Nocturnal Animals, his new entrance exam. screen role of Mysterio “kind of Speaking about the new film, relates” to himself. director Watts says it is used as “a “There are a lot of similarities sort of entry point to explore how all between us. He has been struggling the world has changed” after Aveng­ with a lot of different things and he ers: Endgame — the epic culmina­ has his regrets,” says Gyllenhaal. tion and 22nd film of an 11­year­long Unlike the depiction in the Mar­ Marvel Cinematic Universe story vel comics that Mysterio is a super­ arc which began with 2008’s Iron villain, Gyllenhaal notes that his Man. character shows heroic qualities in “The events of Endgame are just the new film and he enjoys the idea so massive and world­changing. of Mysterio and Spider­Man becom­ Half of the world disappeared and ing allies. came back again. This poor kid Speaking about his first impres­ (referring to Parker, a teenager) has Clockwise from top left: Jake sions of Holland, Gyllenhaal recalls lost his mentor, Iron Man, and is just Gyllenhaal, who stars as how surprised he was by the young trying to figure out how he fits into Mysterio, takes a photo with a actor’s physical ability, which he this new world,” says Watts. local fan during a promotional says was exemplified by Holland “To me, that is immediately some­ event of the new Spider­Man easily leaping over a trampoline and thing we’ve never seen before,” he film in Beijing on June 11; Tom landing on his hands when shooting adds. Holland, who plays Spider­Man, a scene in which he was fighting the As the new film marks an expan­ signs photos for fans; Holland monsters. sion of the footprint of Spider­Man, (center), Gyllenhaal (left) and “I couldn’t believe it. It was as if who mostly tackles villains in New director Jon Watts attend the the real Spider­Man had flown into York, one of the biggest hopes for same event; a still image; and the scene,” says Gyllenhaal, with a domestic fans is that Spider­Man two posters of the film. big smile. will travel to China in the future. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY When asked if this was likely, Contact the writer at Watts quickly replies: “Oh, yeah. [email protected] Suited and rebooted: Men in Black returns to Chinese screens By XU HAOYU years, the series of three movies to work with an ensemble cast, “I’m not so rigid about what’s in [email protected] banked $1.45 billion. where it’s hard for actors from dif­ the script. We always like to create Gray started his career in 1992 ferent roles to form a chemistry. Yet, an environment where the actors Twenty­two years after the first and has worked on many hit movies, he was happily surprised by how are free to improvise, and some of Men in Black film came out, the including the action flicks The Ital­ well the actors bonded, especially the most spontaneous fun moments fourth movie in the series was ian Job and The Fate of the Furious Thompson and Hemsworth, who often come from this. We’re all art­ released to impatient fans in the 8, and the thriller The Negotiator. had worked together previously in ists and filmmaking is a collabora­ United States and China on Friday. But this is the first time he has pro­ The Avengers and Thor series. tive process,” he says. Based on the Marvel­owned Mali­ duced a science­fiction film. The Men in Black series always Talking about the premise of the bu comic book series by Lowell Cun­ “The chance came along, and I features surprising high­tech weap­ film, Gray says he believes in alter­ ningham, Men in Black: thought that it was my time to jump ons, and this outing will not disap­ native realities. International follows the paths of into the sci­fi genre and combine point, hints Gray, mentioning a “People continue to discover new the two special agents as they battle that with fun and action,” Gray told classic Jaguar that doubles up as a planets and galaxies. I think it vicious aliens and track down a China Daily during an interview in moving arsenal. would be a little shortsighted of us to mole inside their organization. Beijing on June 8. Many scenes in the new movie believe that we’re the only living The film is directed by F. Gary Filming took place in New York, pay homage to the earlier films and beings in the entire universe,” Gray Gray, and features a diverse cast, Morocco, Paris, Italy and London feature the memory­erasing “neu­ says. including Australian actor Chris from July to October last year. Tessa Thompson (left) and Chris Hemsworth play agents M and H ralizer” and the triple­barreled plas­ “Aliens inhabit the world we don’t Hemsworth, American actress Tessa “It’s always fun to see different cul­ in Men in Black: International. The film was released in China on ma gun. There are moments where see, so the interaction with them Thompson, Swedish actress Rebec­ tures and learn about them, and Friday. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Gray taps into the popularity of through our creativity has to be ca Ferguson, Pakistani­American shoot beautiful places that are rich Avengers: Endgame and drops in interesting — that’s what makes sci­ actor Kumail Nanjiani and Irish with history,” says Gray. references aimed at Marvel fans. fi films so popular.” actor Liam Neeson. “It feels like we went on vacation Thompson, on the other hand, dle a role like this. His suspicion The biggest surprise for Chinese Meeting with mixed reviews in The original Men in Black movie together,” Thompson adds, smiling. had not done any sci­fi work before, paid off when she opened the first audiences will be the guest appear­ China, media industry tracker Xiniu starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Gray also says he was lucky that but had a lot of drama experience. page of the play and wowed every­ ance of Crazy Alien star Huang Bo Entertainment says the film “puts a Jones created a sensation on its Hemsworth joined the cast in the Gray says he had a sneaking suspi­ one with her powerful delivery.