LayarHijau – Rumors claiming that around 80% of Tom Holland’s action scenes in Spider-Man: Brand New Day were performed by a stunt double have been circulating in China in recent days. The speculation began after Henan-based stunt performer Wang Zhuangzhuang revealed that he served as Tom Holland’s stunt double during the production of the film.
Wang shared several behind-the-scenes photos from the set on his social media, including pictures with Tom Holland. His posts quickly caught the attention of Chinese netizens, who jokingly nicknamed him “Henan Brother,” a play on Tom Holland’s popular Chinese nickname, “Holland Brother.”
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During a livestream, Wang clarified that he only doubled for Tom Holland in a handful of high-risk action sequences. He admitted that filming those scenes was physically demanding and that he took quite a beating while shooting them.
“The best part of working on this movie was finishing a Spider-Man stunt scene and then immediately switching over to play a ninja,” Wang said.
He also described Tom Holland as friendly, approachable, and down-to-earth. Wang added that Zendaya filmed without an assistant by her side and was easygoing with everyone on set.
However, some viewers misunderstood Wang’s comments, leading to rumors that roughly 80% of Tom Holland’s action scenes had been handled by a stunt double. The claim quickly spread across Chinese social media and sparked criticism of the actor.
As the controversy grew, one netizen alleged that Wang had actually been dismissed from the production midway through filming over alleged professionalism issues. The claim has not been confirmed by either the studio or the film’s production team.
Several people who worked on the film later disputed the rumors, insisting that Tom Holland personally performed around 80% of the movie’s action scenes. They also claimed that the actor suffered a concussion following an on-set accident, forcing him to temporarily stop filming.
Shortly after the controversy escalated, Wang reportedly deleted the video that had fueled the discussion.
On August 5, the official Spider-Man: Brand New Day Douyin account uploaded three behind-the-scenes videos showing Tom Holland performing action scenes himself. Many viewers saw the posts as an apparent response to the rumors circulating in China that most of his fight scenes had been handled by a stunt double.
Earlier, a stuntwoman from the Jackie Chan Stunt Team who worked on the production also said during a livestream that Tom Holland personally performed about 80% of the film’s action scenes. According to her, stunt doubles were only used for scenes that were especially dangerous or technically demanding.
Despite the controversy, Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues its strong run at the Chinese box office. After eight days in theaters, the film has grossed more than 1 billion yuan (approximately US$139 million), making it one of the eight highest-grossing films of the year in China so far.
Based on its current momentum, Dengta Pro has raised its final box office projection to 1.77 billion yuan (approximately US$246 million), while Maoyan Pro now forecasts a total of 1.73 billion yuan (approximately US$241 million).
Worldwide, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has also been a massive box office success. The film has grossed approximately US$1.053 billion globally, including US$646 million from international markets outside North America. It has already surpassed The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Michael, and is closing in on Toy Story 5, which currently stands at US$1.068 billion, in the race to become the highest-grossing film of the year.
