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Tom Holland is about to reach superstardom levels when Spider-Man: Homecoming hits theater this summer, but it’s a testament to the actor’s talent and character that he’s also still very interested in working with interesting filmmakers on much smaller-scale movies. One of these is filmmaker James Gray’s The Lost City of Z, which just hit select theaters, but he’s also attached to star in the next film from an incredibly fascinating director: Shane Carruth.

Carruth first broke through with the head-spinning sci-fi pic Primer, then followed that up years later with the emotional yet intellectually complex Upstream Color. Holland was announced as joining the cast of The Modern Ocean, Carruth’s 200-page adventure epic involving disputes over shipping routes, back in 2015 when the film was being packaged, but we’ve since heard precious little about the project.

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Image via Amazon Studios

So when Collider’s own Steve Weintraub spoke with Holland at the press day for The Lost City of Z, he asked the actor what happened to The Modern Ocean and if it still might happen:

“Do you know what, I don’t know. I love Shane’s movies, I think he’s a great director; Primer and Upstream Color are awesome. That is I think the best script I’ve ever read. It’s the craziest idea for a movie ever; it’s so cool. I actually keep meaning to get my agents on the phone to talk about it, to try and see if we can kick it up again. But not I’m still attached to it I guess, but I hope we get to make it in the future.”

The 2015 cast also included Keanu Reeves, Daniel Radcliffe, and Anne Hathaway, and Holland’s about to have a lot of clout to get films financed when Spider-Man officially hits theaters, so it’s possible The Modern Ocean might come to fruition in the wake of the Marvel superhero pic.

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Image via The Weinstein Company

But Holland has another smaller scale drama on the horizon that’s already in the can. He stars in The Current War alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon, with Me and Earl and the Dying Girl filmmaker Alfonso Gomez-Rejon directing, and Holland plays a key role in the pic:

“I would call it a political drama about the invention of the light bulb and the kind of race [of] who was able to supply this incredible invention to the American people between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. I play a character called Samuel Insull, who is the secretary to Mr. Edison. He’s a boy who grew up in Putney, which is not far from where I live now, moved to Chicago then moved to New York and started working for Edison. “

The actor had high praise not only for his co-star Cumberbatch, but also the film’s director:

“It was amazing for me to play a character opposite Benedict Cumberbatch—he’s someone who I’ve looked up to for years and the idea that I would work with him and then become friends with him was an amazing experience. And Alfonso, our director, was off the charts amazing. I mean this guy is so unique in the way he works. The way he would shoot a scene was so interesting, and I really wanted to watch him work. I’m so excited for the movie and also maybe hopefully working with him again in the future.”

The Weinstein Company has slated The Current War for release this December, so we’ll get to see this thing sooner rather than later. Look for Steve’s full interview with Holland on The Lost City of Z on Collider soon.

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