#First Cherry Footage Introduces Tom Holland as a Military Recruit with a Broken Heart

The Russo Brothers have unveiled the first footage from their upcoming movie Cherry. The drama stars Tom Holland as a military veteran with extreme PTSD. The Russos previously worked with Holland in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where they introduced him to the world as the latest Peter Parker in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. They went on to direct the young actor in Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame before realizing that he would be the perfect person to play the title role in Cherry.

We’d like to introduce you to Cherry… pic.twitter.com/E8otgzSvWp

— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) January 9, 2021

The first footage from Cherry finds Tom Holland’s character signing up for the United States Army after his girlfriend breaks up with him. It’s only about a minute of footage, but it sets the tone for the drama, which is far different from anything MCU fans have seen Holland in before. The movie will be released in select theaters starting on February 26th, before heading to Apple TV+ on March 12, which puts it right at the cutoff for eligibility at the Academy Awards in this extended season.
RELATED: Tom Holland’s New Cherry Poster Gets Quickly Changed After Original Confuses Fans
The Russo Brothers have high hopes for Cherry, thanks to Tom Holland’s performance and Nico Walker’s story. “I think it’s an Oscar worthy performance. I think he is absolutely amazing in it. He gives a gut wrenching performance,” says Joe Russo. He continued by declaring, “What he does to himself emotionally and physically is unbelievable. We haven’t a seen an actor in a role like this in a while. The movie spans a decade, complemented by an epic performance. And one that I certainly hope will be in the Oscar conversation.” So far, it looks like Russo may have gotten his wish, as Oscar whispers have already started with the movie still over a month away from hitting theaters.

In a new interview, Joe Russo explained what he and Anthony tried to accomplish with Cherry. “The approach here was to do something really tonally challenging,” Russo said. In order to accomplish that goal, the directors had to get creative and think outside the box in order to convey different times and emotional states of their main character. You can read what Joe Russo had to say about their process below.

“The movie is broken into six chapters and each chapter is shot different with different lenses, different camera techniques, different styles, different music, different performances, and so every chapter was meant to reflect how he felt about that phase of his life. That was the complicated stew that you’re referring to, the movie travels quite a distance tonally.”

Tom Holland stars in Cherry as the title character, who is loosely based on author Nico Walker. He’s joined in the cast by Ciara Bravo, Jack Reynor, Kelli Berglund, Thomas Lennon, Adam Long, Jeff Wahlberg, Michael Gandolfini, and Pooch Hall. After half of a decade playing Peter Parker for Sony and the MCU, it looks like Holland could get his first Academy Award nomination with Cherry. You can see the first footage for the movie above, thanks to the Russo Brothers’ official Twitter account, and judge for yourself.

Topics: Cherry