SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY (2026)

For all the tiresome, circular discourse surrounding the downturn of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the Spider-Man films have been welcome palate cleansers. When anxiety mounted over the MCU’s future without Tony Stark, Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) helped steady the ship; and when the dimension-hopping Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) disappointed many, it was partly because Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) had already delivered the multiverse spectacle audiences were clamouring for.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives at a fascinating juncture. Marvel is rolling the dice on Avengers: Doomsday soon, hoping to recreate a cultural phenomenon on a par with Avengers: Endgame (2019) — albeit without the same solid groundwork. Excitement is slowly growing thanks to fun teasers and Comic-Con buzz, though tempered by nervousness. The question is: can our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man provide the ideal lead-in? Rather than trying to outdo No Way Home, can it offer a tighter, more intimate story that re-engages audiences with Peter Parker (Tom Holland) as he navigates university life against the backdrop of a sprawling, chaotic cinematic universe?

Perhaps surprisingly, Brand New Day isn’t interested in setting up Doomsday (even the end-credits trailer is a damp squib). However, it does provide a worthwhile next chapter to a trilogy that could have ended on a bittersweet note: Peter Parker choosing to save his friends, MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), by erasing their memories of him. After No Way Home pushed the boat out with its spectacle and franchise crossover excess, it makes sense that Brand New Day serves as a soft reset. Amusingly, it essentially reaches the same point as Act Two of Sam Raimi’s original film.

Peter is now estranged from his friends as they’re off enjoying college life together — if you don’t count his AI assistant (voiced by Naomi Watts) — and is fighting crime to such an extent that it swallows all his free time. He’s a local hero for cleaning up the streets of scumbags like Scorpion (Michael Mando), but beyond a few friendly, anonymous phone calls with NYPD Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas) and banter with the vigilante Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), Peter’s entirely on his own.

The death of his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) has isolated him further, and his heartache seems to trigger biological changes. As the arachnid side of his DNA takes over, it gifts him greater strength and organic web-shooters (akin to Tobey Maguire’s Spidey), but at the direct expense of his mental clarity and moral resolve to protect the innocent at all costs.

Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) replaces Jon Watts as director for the MCU’s Spider-Man franchise, and he proves to be a breath of fresh air. While I enjoyed Watts’s approach to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) with its lively teen energy, his subsequent directorial efforts always felt a little hollow. Cretton brings several unmistakable positives to Brand New Day: the action choreography is easily the best we’ve seen in these films — particularly when Spidey fights the Hand ninjas — and the street-level atmosphere of New York City is palpable. It feels as though he took inspiration from Raimi’s more colourful and kinetic trilogy, but also the successful Insomniac/Sony video games — which clearly inspired a tank chase sequence through the NYC streets.

While much of Brand New Day was undoubtedly shot on greenscreen or Pinewood Studios sets, Glasgow’s stint doubling for the Big Apple gives the production a genuine, grounded feel. Consequently, the VFX augmentation elevates the film rather than leaving you with the depressing sense that everyone was acting against a void, with ‘reality’ stitched together entirely in post-production. That uncanniness often proved distracting in the previous three films in this series.

Tom Holland has never been bad in this role, but he’s grown significantly as a performer. At 30, his experience translates into a richer, more compelling Peter than we’ve seen before. You genuinely feel his depression and frustration with being Spidey this time, but never in a way that suggests the character views doing good as a chore or a curse. He’s simply going through a phase, allowing for genuine character development across the film. The analogy comparing a spider’s biological evolution to Peter balancing his dual identities also works well, even if certain beats might have landed better had he still been a teenage boy — such as when the emergence of organic wrist web-shooters leaves him awkwardly spewing white gunk around, bewildered by the sudden changes in his body. You know what I mean.

The supporting cast is equally strong, and it’s a relief to find that Zendaya and, to a lesser extent, Jacob Batalon haven’t been forgotten. MJ, in particular, plays a touching role as the love of Peter’s life with whom he can no longer communicate. Anyone expecting a simple quick-fix to reverse the spell and restore the status quo will be disappointed; there are no easy answers here. Instead, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers’s screenplay explores the repercussions of this sorrow and amnesia with delicacy and some intriguing character choices. It also helps that Holland’s chemistry with Zendaya continues to strengthen; as a real-life couple, their scenes crackle with a surprising amount of emotion and maturity.

Among the new additions to the ensemble, the infamously foul-mouthed and ultra-violent Frank Castle / The Punisher makes a fascinating transition to the big screen following his decade-long appearances in the Daredevil TV series. Rather than emasculating him, the film positions Castle as a compelling counterpoint to Spider-Man’s approach to crime-fighting, and their antagonistic, almost brotherly banter provides some of the film’s highlights.

Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) also plays a prominent second-half role that’s difficult to discuss without spoiling a well-guarded secret. While my theories about her character proved correct, I was thoroughly surprised by how they handled her backstory. It’s a clever refresh — delving deep into comic-book lore to deliver something unexpected, even for long-time viewers of these films. I’m excited to see where they take her in the future.

If there are drawbacks to Brand New Day, they stem from its 145-minute length, as the story doesn’t justify such an epic runtime. This could have easily been wrapped up in under two hours. The main villain — who only properly enters the story halfway through — is an interesting subversion of expectations, perhaps intended to contrast the supervillain excess of No Way Home. However, the narrative feels slightly unbalanced because we spend almost all our time watching Peter investigate clues and ‘stalk’ his friends. The Batman (2022) approached its own mysterious villain, The Riddler, in a similar way, with characters like The Penguin and Catwoman taking up the slack in other scenes alongside Batman himself; however, it somehow doesn’t work as well with The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and The Punisher. Still, I have to admire how the MCU has allowed its green giant to enter middle age, with salt-and-pepper hair. Maybe those purple bottoms will soon turn beige, too.

Overall, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is an undeniably strong superhero adventure. It’s buoyed by its performances, the director’s grasp of the material, and his desire to make things feel grounded and real, while the MCU elements mostly complement the narrative rather than feeling cynically deployed. It feels like a movie you’d be excited to return to again and again, because it gets the fundamentals right and has actual emotional arcs and themes to lean into. While it’s a surprise there isn’t a stronger connection to the next Avengers film, at least fans can now approach the MCU’s next major event film on a note of optimism and joy.

USA • CANADA • UK • GERMANY | 2026 | 145 MINUTES | 2.39:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Cast & Crew

director: Destin Daniel Cretton.
writers: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers (based on characters created by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko).
starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Tramell Tillman, Marisa Tomei & Mark Ruffalo.