Marvel Took Tom Holland’s Joke Too Seriously And Sent Him To School Undercover

Though Marvel Studios always puts a premium on wit and levity in its comicbook movies, it does take its film productions pretty seriously.

When the newest addition to Marvel roster of superhero stars, Tom Holland, jokingly suggested that he go to an American high school to train for the film, the studio actually obliged and had him packing to the Bronx School of Science with a fake name and a fake accent.

Speaking in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Holland recalls how Marvel had sent off to study in a New York "school for genius kids" and how he had ended up sharing his identity as the real Spider-Man actor to a pretty girl that he sat down next to in class.

"So, as a joke, I suggested to Marvel that I should go to a high school undercover and it was completely a joke and Marvel took it completely seriously. I guess they didn't get my British sarcasm. The next thing I know I was like, I had a backpack with a pencil case on my way to Bronx School of Science."

"I went to school with a fake name and a fake accent. And Bronx School of Science is a school for genius kids and I am no genius," Holland recounted. "Even the teachers didn't know that I was not a real student, so they'd bring me up to the front of the class and be like, ‘What do you think, new kid?' I'm like, ‘I have no idea what you're talking about.' It was very embarrassing."

"I had one funny experience. I was sat in the back of a classroom next ot quite a pretty girl and eventually she was like, ‘So, dude, what's your deal, man?' I was like, ‘Well, do you want to know my secret?'"

The girl did end up believing him, but thankfully she didn't spread it around the campus. Sure Holland would have had had instant recognition at the school for geniuses, but that would have broken his cover and would have had him returning to Marvel with failed American school training.

Here's the synopsis for Spider-Man: Homecoming:

Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) returns home to live with his Aunt May. Under the watchful eye of mentor Tony Stark, Parker starts to embrace his newfound identity as Spider-Man. He also tries to return to his normal daily routine -- distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just a friendly neighborhood superhero. Peter must soon put his powers to the test when the evil Vulture emerges to threaten everything that he holds dear.

Spider-Man: Homecoming comes swinging into cinemas on July 7, 2017.

Read: Watch Chris Hemsworth Hilariously Make His Own Avengers Movie With Action Figures