Why Peter Parker's AI Assistant E.V. Sounds So Familiar In Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day"
In case it escaped anyone that Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is the thematic Marvel Cinematic Universe successor of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" shows the best live-action Spidey in decades in full mad inventor mode. Peter's asbestos-riddled apartment-building lair, with its computer setups and assorted tinkering machines, is effectively a budget version of Tony's workshop circa "Iron Man" — and Peter even has his own AI assistant to help with his tasks.
This isn't Peter's first foray into artificial intelligence helpers, of course. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" features the suit AI Karen (Jennifer Connelly), and the sunglasses that host the powerful E.D.I.T.H (Dawn Michelle King) are a key plot point in "Spider-Man: Far from Home." However, the "Brand New Day" AI assistant E.V. is notable because it seems to be Peter's own creation instead of a Stark handout. In case you think that E.V. sounds familiar — well, there's a reason for that, too. The AI assistant is voiced by none other than Naomi Watts, whom you've almost certainly heard (and seen) in a number of projects.
Naomi Watts is new in the MCU, but she has plenty of accolades elsewhere
Two-time Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts has been acting in movies and TV shows since 1986. After the obligatory first, comparatively obscure roles, she steadily raised her profile over the years. She eventually scored the lead role in the surrealist 2001 mystery "Mulholland Drive," which is arguably David Lynch's best movie. The next year, she starred in Gore Verbinski's U.S. remake of the Japanese horror classic "The Ring" — a role Watts almost didn't take, but ended up crushing it and even reprised it in the 2005 sequel, "The Ring Two." The year 2005 also saw her play Ann Darrow in Peter Jackson's "King Kong."
Since then, Watts has been a reliable hand in great films across a number of genres. You've seen her in David Cronenberg's gangster thriller "Eastern Promises," Alejandro G. Iñárritu's theater comedy-drama "Birdman," Ryan Murphy's eerie stalker series "The Watcher," and many other projects. Now, Watts joins the MCU — and while the role of E.V. might not be particularly large in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," Paul Bettany's road from voicing J.A.R.V.I.S. to playing Vision suggests that an actor of Watts' caliber might very well see a similar role expansion at some point down the line.
"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is in theaters.