The fourth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) “Spider-Man” series, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, continues the storyline from 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home wherein Doctor Strange cast a spell to save several fractured universes that inadvertently brought characters from all three Spider-Man film series together to fight alongside Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the MCU.
As the film begins, Peter (Tom Holland) is living in a world that no longer remember he is also Spider-Man. Of course, Peter still fights crime as the webslinger, but his best friends like MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) have no knowledge of his secret life as a crime fighter. As if that weren’t enough to break Peter’s spirit, a new enemy surfaces that appears to have the ability to take control of almost anyone it chooses for its nefarious purposes. To battle this new foe, Spider-Man enlists the help of Frank Castle/The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), but that only proves helpful as long as they too can avoid being controlled by Peter’s sinister new foe.
Assuming the directorial reigns from Jon Watts (who helmed the previous three films in the series: Spider-Man: Homecoming [2017], Spider-Man: Far From Home [2019], and Spider-Man: No Way Home [2021]), director Destin Daniel Cretton (who also directed one fo the more cerebral entries of the MCU –Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – devotes a bit more time to Spider-Man’s existential reason for being than Watts did. Oddly enough though, the action does not suffer for this. Throughout this crisis of persona, there’s a part of Spidey that desperately wants to reconnect with the elements of his past, yet the hero in him realizes that if he needs to suffer for the greater good, then that is the path he’ll have to walk. After all, as Aunt May told him in No Way Home: “With great power, comes great responsibility.”
Screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers – who penned the last two entries in the series and helped develop the screenplay for the first film – bring the arc full circle with this entry that establishes Spider-Man as a stalwart hero that will be ever present an don hand to protect and defend the city of New York, whenever needed.
Jon Bernthal and Tom Holland in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” Photo by: Jay Maidment.
Returning for his fourth feature-length go around as the titular character, Tom Holland delivers yet again as both Peter and his crime fighting alter ego – though there are a few scenes wherein it is hard not to notice that Holland may be aging a bit beyond where Peter is supposed to be at this point in his life. The rest of the cast does equally as impressive work as friends and foes alike all are afforded ample time to have their moment on centerstage until the focus shifts back to Peter and his story (an aspect that could perhaps be best attributed to the new director of the series).
Though some comic-book aficionados may bristle at some of the paths the story takes, the risks that Spider-Man: Brand New Day embraces – and conquers – make for a far more thoughtful and engaging super hero movie than many might be expecting.
WHERE TO WATCH: (powered by JustWatch)
| Producer: | Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, Rachel O'Connor |
| Release Date: | July 31, 2026 |
| Running Time: | 145 minutes |
| Starring: | Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, Mark Ruffalo, Liza Colón-Zayas |
| Writer: | Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers |
| MPAA Rating: | PG-13 (for sequences of action/violence and some language) |
| Director: | Destin Daniel Cretton |
| Distributor: | Columbia Pictures |
| External Info: | Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / X (TWITTER) / #SpiderManBrandNewDay |
