‘Spider-Man’ Director Jon Watts on the Surprise Rerelease of His Debut ‘Clown’ and Why It’ll Be ‘Genuinely Weird’ to Watch Tom Holland in ‘Brand New Day’

Jon Watts is best known for directing the Tom Holland-starring “Spider-Man” movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing a youthful charm to the franchise, which he most recently replicated in the jovial Disney+ “Star Wars” series “Skeleton Crew.” So one might be surprised to learn that Watts began his career directing a dark, low-budget, horror film produced by Eli Roth.

“I was definitely not aspiring to make uplifting action comedies,” Watts tells Variety, reflecting on his unlikely career trajectory.

Watts’ first feature, “Clown,” is a body horror film that he co-wrote with his regular writing partner, Christopher Ford. The film began as a fake trailer that he and Ford released on YouTube in 2010, introducing the premise of a father who dresses up as a clown for his kid’s birthday party, only to find the costume unremovable and eventually possessive of his body and soul.

The fictitious trailer says…