Jacob Batalon was given "more liberty" on the set of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The 29-year-old actor has reprised the role of Ned Leeds in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the new Marvel superhero movie, and Jacob has hailed the influence of director Destin Daniel Cretton and co-star Tom Holland.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Jacob explained: "In general, Destin was always open and willing to collaborate with myself and Zendaya about our characters. So the really beautiful part is that Tom not only has his fingerprints over the entire movie, but we were also given more liberty with our parts."
Eman Esfandi appears as a new boyfriend for MJ, played by Zendaya, in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Jacob revealed how Destin tried to make everyone feel comfortable on the film's set.
The actor shared: "What’s really great about Destin as a person and a leader is that he makes everyone feel comfortable and welcomed. He wants everyone to be a part of the family and the community.
"So Eman was really great for us, and it was a big task to step in as the replacement boyfriend. That just speaks to how invested we’ve all been in these characters’ relationships the last decade. People genuinely sense the awkward tension when they see MJ’s new boyfriend because they know it feels wrong."
Meanwhile, Destin recently explained the decision to keep Sadie Sink's role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day under wraps.
The 24-year-old actress stars alongside Jacob, Tom, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, and Mark Ruffalo in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the director recently reflected on the secrecy surrounding Sadie's part in the movie.
He explained to The Hollywood Reporter: "I don’t think there’s any way of trying to emulate the last movie. In terms of stakes, you can’t really go bigger than that last movie. So rather than trying to go bigger, we were hoping to go deeper in a different way."
Destin believes the reasons for the secrecy are easy to understand.
The 47-year-old director - who previously helmed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - said: "Keeping what Sadie’s doing under wraps, you’ll honestly understand when you see the movie. The movie is a better movie if you don’t know certain things. I wish people didn’t know anything when they go in to watch this movie, but we’re not doing it for any other reason but to protect the experience of the fans.
"I want everybody to have the best experience when they go watch this movie. And whoever goes on opening weekend, you are going to have a much cooler experience if you go in not knowing certain things."
