SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY
2026 | Dir. Destin Daniel Cretton | 145 Minutes
"People like us don't get to live a normal life. We don't get to have friends or a family. Those people are gone. That life is over. So why don't you just be honest with yourself? Are you Peter Parker, or are you Spider-Man?"
2026 | Dir. Destin Daniel Cretton | 145 Minutes
"People like us don't get to live a normal life. We don't get to have friends or a family. Those people are gone. That life is over. So why don't you just be honest with yourself? Are you Peter Parker, or are you Spider-Man?"
Erased from the minds of his loved ones, Peter Parker spends years in virtual seclusion dedicated to protecting the streets of New York City as Spider-Man, reluctant to build new relationships. Peter's world is once again turned upside down when a mysterious new threat with bizarre abilities attacks his allies in the Department of Damage Control, while his powers go haywire after suffering unexpected emotional devastation.
Following the multiversal upheaval of No Way Home, director Destin Daniel Cretton and writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers deftly weave an intricate story in Spider-Man: Brand New Day that is fully immersed in the angst of being Peter Parker. For all of its high-flying comic book style action, the central conflict of the film is an internal one, the friendly neighborhood hero struggling with the dichotomy of his Spider-Man persona, prioritizing his sense of duty, over his Peter Parker persona, withholding long overdue self-care in a state of self-imposed isolation. The various misfortunes that Peter suffers throughout the narrative, horrifyingly made manifest by the arachnid aspects of his altered DNA overtaking his humanity, are directly attributed to his hesitation to reconnect with his girlfriend, his best friend, and to forge any new relationships whatsoever. Peter awkwardly sidesteps a neighbor who shows interest in him, casually brushes off his police detective pseudo-workmate's attempts to get to know him better, and New Avenger Yelena Belova even openly calls him out for his obvious loneliness. This conflict is accentuated by various dramatic foils to Peter in the form of Frank Castle who embraces his homicidal vigilante Punisher persona, Bruce Banner who carefully suppresses his Hulk persona with technological assistance, and Jean Grey who furiously abandons all hope for meaningful connection in her battle against persecution for being a mutant. The vicarious feeling of triumph delivered so well by the picture is particularly uplifting when Peter Parker attains balance and closure, as his deep capacity for compassion wins out, allowing him to restore some semblance of humanity to Frank, as well as some sorely needed empathy to Jean.
The action direction for Brand New Day surpasses all previous live action Spider-Man films. The web swinging sequences are incredibly dynamic and entertainingly immersive, even more so for the scenes with the added wrinkle of Peter clumsily having to learn how to use organic web-shooters on the fly. Elevated to the stratosphere courtesy of contributions from the legendary Jackie Chan Stunt Team, the fight scenes featuring Spidey facing off against Scorpion, Hulk, and the Hand are choreographed with ingenious grace and whimsy. For more blatant visual effects, Jean's psychic powers are made to look as practical as possible when her consciousness jolts from one host to the next, and while the illusion of grounded practicality goes out the window in the showstopping finale with Jean freezing a large portion New York City denizens in their tracks for miles within her radius, the presentation is executed with more subtle visual flair than the average summer blockbuster. Also of note is Michael Giacchino's brilliant musical score, bringing back his memorable Spider-Man theme with the clever twist of noticeably paring it down and dialing it back to represent Peter's new tortuously solitary status quo.
In his seventh appearance as Peter Parker, Tom Holland is genuinely better in the role than ever, exuding quiet soulfulness, playful mischievousness, or seething rage appropriate to the wild places the story goes. Zendaya continues to give MJ a grounded down-to-earth quality with a just pinch of amusing paranoia. Needless to say, the chemistry between Holland and Zendaya is off the charts, which makes the impossibility of Peter and MJ rekindling their romance all the more tragic. Playing a fresh take on Jean Grey as the primary antagonist of the picture, Sadie Sink is captivating, giving a rather moving performance. The supporting cast features Liza Colón-Zayas as Peter's warm confidant NYPD Detective Jean DeWolff, Jon Bernthal bringing his Punisher Frank Castle to the big screen with a noticeably softer take, Jacob Batalon as Ned adorably obsessed with Spider-Man as ever, Tramell Tillman as the sly Damage Control boss Bill Metzger, Michael Mando returning as Scorpion Mac Gargan for several battles against Spidey, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner serving as both an inspiration to Peter and his alter ego Hulk as an unexpected opponent, Florence Pugh as hilariously brutality honest Black Widow Yelena Belova, and Marisa Tomei playing a small but key role as the Aunt May in Peter's memories.
Extending Tom Holland's excellent tenure as Peter Parker, Brand New Day is a quintessential Spider-Man film, truly one of the very best, doing an exemplary job of conveying everything that makes the friendly neighborhood web-slinger such a compelling and relatable hero. With so much heart and style, Destin Daniel Cretton digs into the very core of what the struggle of being Spider-Man is all about while also delivering thrilling and inventive action. The picture also strikes the ideal balance of telling its own poignant character-driven story while playing in and building upon the shared Marvel Cinematic Universe sandbox in significant meaningful ways.
POST-CREDITS STINGER
New Spider-Man sighting. Location: Unknown.
FRAGMENTS
- It's a nice bit of MCU continuity for Zabryna Guevara's Sheila Rivera from the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again to cameo as the mayor, but it's a slight letdown in that they were never going to make even a passing reference to the events of that show despite the political cataclysm that put a stranglehold on masked vigilantes like Spider-Man in the shared New York City setting
- I adore Liza Colón-Zayas on The Bear, really appreciate how she has a significant part to play in this movie
- On my first viewing, the V-Max red herring of a MacGuffin had my mind racing, it had me seriously wondering if Damage Control somehow subjugated Wanda Maximoff, but the reveal turned out to be truly heartbreaking
- Similarly, I was really hoping the rumors surrounding Sadie Sink's casting as Jean Grey were false because it seemed totally out-of-place for such a prominent X-Men character to be introduced in a Spider-Man sequel, but it absolutely works for me within the context of this story
- Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal also appear together in 2017's Pilgrimage
- Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, and Zendaya also appear together in Christopher Nolan's 2026 take on The Odyssey
- Zendaya and Florence Pugh also star in Dune: Part Two and Dune: Part Three
- Marvin Jones III makes a cameo appearance as the villain Tombstone, previously providing the voice for character in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
