The pair previously starred as mother and son in “The Impossible,” while Watts also appeared with Sadie Sink in “The Glass Castle.”

Naomi Watts on reuniting with Tom Holland for secret Spider-Man role: ‘From playing your mom to playing your AI’

The pair previously starred as mother and son in “The Impossible,” while Watts also appeared with Sadie Sink in “The Glass Castle.”

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in Vanity Fair, Vulture, IGN, and more.

EW's editorial guidelines

August 4, 2026 4:32 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Naomi Watts; Tom Holland in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’. Credit:

John Nacion/Getty; Jay Maidment/Columbia Pictures

- Naomi Watts voices E.V., Peter Parker’s AI assistant, in *Spider-Man: Brand New Day*.

- The casting marks a reunion for Watts and Tom Holland, who played mother and son in *The Impossible*.

- “From playing your mom to playing your AI,” Watts wrote on Instagram.

**This article contains minor spoilers from *Spider-Man: Brand New Day*.**

Among all the surprises in *Spider-Man: Brand New Day*, one of the more subtle reveals involves Naomi Watts.

The two-time Oscar nominee, seen more recently on the Ryan Murphy shows *Love Story* and *All’s Fair*, has a heretofore secret role in Tom Holland’s latest Marvel movie. Confirmed by the end credits, the actress voices E.V., Peter Parker’s J.A.R.V.I.S.-like AI helper.

Watts posted some behind-the-scenes photos from her time on the movie, which marks a reunion with Holland. He played her onscreen son in the emotional disaster-drama *The Impossible*.

*Brand New Day* also marks a reunion with director Destin Daniel Cretton, who worked with Watts on the 2017 film *The Glass Castle*.

“From playing your mom to playing your AI (100 percent human made),” Watts wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday. She congratulated Holland, Cretton, and “the whole *Spider-Man: Brand New Day* team on the historic opening weekend,” referring to the movie’s status as the biggest box-office opening weekend of all time with $1.2 billion.

“Immensely proud to even just a tiny part of this incredible film!” Watts added.

Tom Holland dehydrated for ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ bathhouse scene

Sony boss weighs in on Spider-Man succession plan after Tom Holland says it’s ‘laid out’

Watts and Holland starred in *The Impossible* in 2012, directed by J.A. Bayona. The lead actress earned an Oscar nomination for playing Dr. Maria Bennett, who joins her family on holiday in Thailand when a massive tsunami — inspired by the very real Indian Ocean disaster of 2004 — causes area-wide devastation.

Holland delivered a striking performance as Lucas, the 12-year-old son of Maria and Henry Bennett (Ewan McGregor).

However, *The Glass Castle* was also an important movie in terms of casting *Spider-Man: Brand New Day*. Watts played Rose Mary Walls, the mother of a nomadic family living in poverty and squalor. Sadie Sink played a younger Lori Walls, who was portrayed later as an adult by *Succession* star Sarah Snook.

Tom Holland and Naomi Watts in ‘The Impossible’.

Jose Haro/Summit

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

Cretton then reunited Watts and Sink in *Spider-Man: Brand New Day*, which is in theaters now.

The film picks with with Holland’s Peter Parker dealing with the depression and isolation of living in a world that forgot who he is, thanks to the multiverse hijinks of the previous Spidey movie. Peter endures an evolution in which elevated arachnid DNA levels forces his body to produce organic webbing and send his already heightened senses into overdrive.

Sink emerges as Jean Grey, a powerful telepath who uses mind control to attack the organization responsible for kidnapping her sister. The ensemble also features Zendaya as MJ, Jacob Batalon as Ned, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk, Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher, and Tramell Tillman as William Metzger.

- Film Worlds & Fandoms

- Marvel Universe

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Marvel”