Under the guise of promoting action guidance under the name “Creating a Family,” the director of the Sony-Marvel film “Spider-Man: New Day” suddenly “refused to acknowledge” the claims made over the past year.
Recently, director Destin Daniel Cretton clarified in an interview with Hollywood media outlet The Wrap that the Chow Brothers did not actually participate in the action design of the film, but Jackie Chan did make a special trip to London to visit the set.
This operation has left many people confused: After all, during the promotion over the past nearly year, “the Chengjia Class serving as action instructors” has been one of the key selling points of this film to attract Chinese audiences. Foreign media and film critics have generally praised the action design of this film as “one of the best in the history of Spider-Man”.
Director Dustin Crondall
At the premiere in China last month, the lead actor Tom Holland personally acknowledged that the martial arts training for the film was handled by Jackie Chan's team. The crew used a combination of real-world props and on-site construction to create a unique action system for "Spider-Man". Both the sharpness of close-quarters combat and the speed of high-altitude movements are highly realistic and impactful.
He revealed that in order to complete the high-difficulty actions involving intricate building techniques in the film, he trained hard for three months by following Cheng's team. Additionally, he mentioned that Cheng's team cleverly utilized environmental props, combining spiderweb thrusting with close-quarters combat. One scene of the film paid tribute to the glass exterior falling scene from Jackie Chan's classic film "I Am What I Am".
When talking about Jackie Chan flying specifically to London to visit the set, "Dutch Brother" was extremely excited as a hardcore fan. He recalled that Jackie Chan not only praised him for taking the initiative to perform the action scenes, but also reminded him to be safe during the filming, which deeply moved him.
"I am so happy!" He exclaimed excitedly, "At that time, I was turning around on the set and saw Bruce Lee standing there—he's my idol, seeing him in person really gave me immense confidence."
Jackie Chan himself has also mentioned this matter several times publicly. In August last year, while promoting the film "Chasing Wind and Shadows" starring Leung Ka-fai in Macau, China, he revealed that after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Luciano Film Festival in Switzerland, he took a detour to London.
He said, “I’m going to London for a meeting, and I’ll also visit the set. Our team is filming ‘Spider-Man’. They are the action directors for this movie. I went to watch their rehearsals, and when the director saw me, he became so nervous that he didn’t know what to do. I had to let him know that our team is actually under my control!”
Jackie Chan discussed in an interview with CCTV the role of his team in directing the movie "Spider-Man".
This “propaganda combo” has been in effect for a year. Now, when the director suddenly changes his stance, some Chinese fans can't help but feel dissatisfied: “They just accept the good box office results, and now they refuse to admit it?”
Kriton explained in an interview with The Wrap that the action directing of the film was actually done by Zhang Peng.
According to him, Kriton believes that the misunderstanding among the outside world arises because Zhang Peng served as a stunt double for Jackie Chan in his early years, and he also studied under the late stunt performer, martial arts instructor, and fourth-generation foreign member of the Cheng Family Team, Bradley James Allan.
And another Marvel movie directed by Clint Eastwood, 'The Legend of Stature and the Ten Rings', is actually Allen's last work. Zhang Peng also served as the special effects coordinator for this film. It is these deep connections that have led people to mistakenly believe that the Chanakai team was involved in the production of this movie.
But it seems he overlooked one thing—Zhang Peng is actually a registered member of the Chengjia Team, and he is the seventh generation member of the team.
Zhang Peng also revealed in an interview with the Chinese Film Channel that Jackie Chan was invited to visit the set, but unfortunately, the two did not meet at that time. He also said that Chinese action movies are always worth learning from and studying, and he hopes that more filmmakers overseas can appreciate the charm of Chinese martial arts.
Additionally, Fan Xiaoshuang, who played the villain chief in the film, also said in a recent interview that she joined the Chengjia Team two years ago and is a member of Zhang Peng's team, being a tenth-generation member.
"Because we've worked with the director of Spider-Man: Fresh Day for many years, and Mr. Zhang Peng is in charge of martial arts guidance in this film, I have a chance to audition and eventually participated in this movie." she said.
As of August 5 local time, "Spider-Man: Far From Home", which has been in theaters for nearly a week, has surpassed Disney's "Toy Story 5" with earnings of $1.067 billion, taking the top spot on the 2026 global box office charts. The cumulative global box office has reached $1.155 billion, with North America contributing $449 million. According to data from Maoyan Professional Edition, the box office in mainland China was 1.051 billion yuan.
