The star recalls filming that particular scene with [SPOILER].

Tom Holland dehydrated for shirtless Spider-Man: Brand New Day bathhouse scene: ‘Made me really grumpy’

The star recalls filming that particular scene with [SPOILER].

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.

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August 3, 2026 6:01 p.m. ET

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Tom Holland dehydration prepped for shirtless ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ bathhouse scene. Credit:

- Tom Holland talks about that *Spider-Man: Brand New Day* scene in the bathhouse with [SPOILER].

- “I had tried to do that stupid dehydration thing for that scene,” he says of the shirtless moment.

- The results? “It just made me really grumpy.”

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

Marvel’s Kevin Feige pretty much confirmed the presence of Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova in *Spider-Man: Brand New Day* three weeks ahead of release. Sure enough, the new Black Widow pops in for a couple of memorable scenes.

The first sees Tom Holland’s Spider-Man entering her “office” (a Russian bathhouse) to seek intel on the mystery mind-controlling adversary he now faces. To ensure he’s not concealing any weapons, Yelena tells the web-slinger to strip and get in the water. Peter concedes, but he only de-robes down to his mask and underwear.

“Besides absolutely loving working with Florence and the scene going incredibly smoothly and her being the funniest person in the room, I had tried to do that stupid dehydration thing for that scene, where I didn’t drink any water the day before and then I drank loads of water the day before that,” Holland tells ** in an interview conducted prior to the film’s release. “I tried to see if it would make a difference, and the only thing it did is it just made me really grumpy.”

He posits, “I don’t even think it really made that much of a difference.”

Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) in ‘Thunderbolts*’.

Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel

His costars, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, weren’t on set for filming that day. “It would’ve been a little bit weird, it would have been strange,” Holland says. “We were in our underwear.”

“It would have been funny,” Batalon interjects.

Zendaya ended up connecting with Pugh after that particular shoot. “It’s funny because I saw her, I think, right after that on *Dune*,” she says. (*Dune: Part Three* opens in theaters this Dec. 18.)

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Why Zendaya wanted an ‘MJ pass’ of the ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ script

In that scene with Holland in his skivvies, *Marvel’s Spider-Man* video games come to mind. Players of those Insomniac titles for PlayStation consoles can unlock a particular “suit” that allows one to play as Spidey in just his underwear and mask.

Feige, president of Marvel Studios, isn’t sure if that scene is necessarily a reference to the games, but he tells EW separately, “There are a lot of shots in the movie that are inspired by some of the beautiful action shots in the video game, for sure.”

Zendaya as MJ, Tom Holland as Spider-Man in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’.

Holland can’t confirm the Easter egg, either. “Oh yeah! You can do that [in the game],” he, Zendaya, and Batalon collectively respond before the principal lead, joking around, declares, “Yes!”

*Spider-Man: Brand New Day*, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (*Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings*), follows Peter Parker as he attempts to live his life in a world that doesn’t remember who he is. With his aunt (Marisa Tomei) now dead and his loved ones moving on without him, he falls into a deep depression that triggers a mutation in his arachnid DNA, forcing drastic changes to his abilities.

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This time in his life coincides with the emergence of a mysterious figure who uses mind control to wage attacks on Damage Control, the government organization that handles conflicts with enhanced individuals. Sadie Sink stars as this adversary, revealed to be X-Men character Jean Grey.

Michael Mando also returns as Spidey villain Scorpion, Jon Bernthal returns as Frank Castle/Punisher, and Mark Ruffalo returns as Bruce Banner/Hulk.

*Spider-Man: Brand New Day* is playing now in theaters.

- Superhero Movies

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Source: “EW Superhero”