Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Plot

After Dr. Stephen Strange's magic spell makes the world forget that Peter Parker exists, he chooses to protect his girlfriend Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson and best friend Ned Leeds by not reintroducing himself to them. Over the next four years, Parker anonymously protects New York City as its celebrated hero Spider-Man. He defeats major criminals, including Mac Gargan and the Hand ninjas, earning the trust of police detective Jean DeWolff. Parker regularly visits his aunt May's grave.

Parker stops Frank Castle from causing collateral damage in pursuit of a tank that crashes into a Department of Damage Control (DODC) prison. The driver is possessed by a telepath who body hops from person to person to help Gargan escape, but is unable to enter Parker's mind. Yelena Belova informs Parker that multiple DODC facilities have been attacked by someone searching for "V-Max". DODC director Bill Metzger, now using the Hand for security, denies knowledge of "V-Max" to Parker.

Ned and MJ move back to New York after graduating from MIT. Parker encounters them and sees MJ kiss her new boyfriend. Returning home in distress, he wakes up the next day with heightened senses and spinnerets in his wrists. When the telepath attacks another DODC facility with a possessed Gargan, Parker loses control of his new abilities and brutally beats Gargan, inadvertently injuring a police officer. After DeWolff tells him to regain control, Parker learns from Bruce Banner, who has an inhibitor device that uses siRNA to suppress his super-powered alter ego, the Hulk, and builds his own inhibitor. While he tests it, the telepath finds his apartment and learns about MJ from an unsent reintroduction letter he wrote to her. Parker races to get MJ to safety, but the telepath possesses and almost kills her. He rescues MJ and identifies the telepath as teenager Jean Grey.

Parker takes MJ to Castle's hideout for protection, where she helps complete his inhibitor and a universal inhibitor. Jean attacks the DODC's headquarters with a possessed Banner, whose inhibitor is removed, causing him to become the Hulk. While Parker fights the Hulk, Jean possesses Castle to open a vault hiding DODC agents. Parker calms the Hulk, then blocks Jean's powers with the universal inhibitor while Metzger tranquilizes her. Jean mentions "Sara" before losing consciousness; Metzger claims he remembers thinking of a colleague by that name while possessed by Jean. Parker returns to MJ, who has found the letter. He apologizes for not telling her and declares his love, but MJ does not remember him nor reciprocate his feelings. Despite this, she invites him to her and Ned's apartment, where a masked Parker bonds with them both. After MJ describes not remembering anything while possessed, Parker realizes Metzger lied. Parker contacts Yelena, who learns from redacted DODC files that Sara is Jean's sister, another telepath kidnapped by the DODC.

Cast

Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man:A former Avenger who received spider-like abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider. Following Dr. Stephen Strange's spell at the end of the film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), the world has forgotten that Parker exists and he is now focused on anonymously protecting New York City from street-level crime. Director Destin Daniel Cretton said Parker is "dedicating his entire existence" to being Spider-Man. Holland felt this was a unique and "profound" superhero story to tell, and said Parker's dedication to selflessness and sacrifice would have consequences for his personal life and health. He said the film focuses on Parker's search for identity as he transitions from youth to adulthood, inspired by Holland's own journey into adulthood. In Brand New Day, Parker's superpowers begin to evolve: his eyes turn fully black at times; his senses are heightened; and he gains the ability to generate organic webs from his wrists instead of relying on mechanical web-shooters, similar to Tobey Maguire's version of the character in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film series (2002–2007).

Zendaya as Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson:Parker's former classmate and ex-girlfriend who attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with Ned Leeds, with whom she shares an apartment. MJ has a new love interest in the film, causing conflicting feelings for Parker. Zendaya worked with the writers to ensure MJ's "quirks" from the previous films were retained while still maturing the character, after she felt an initial draft had made her too "normal".

Sadie Sink as Jean Grey:A young mutant with psionic abilities such as telekinesis, telepathy, and possession. She is searching for her sister Sara, who was taken by the Department of Damage Control (DODC), bringing her into conflict with Spider-Man. Jean's origin story is depicted differently from the comics and prior adaptations, showing her learn about her powers alongside Sara instead of them manifesting after her friend Annie dies in a car crash. Sink watched the previous screen adaptations of Jean as reference, but noted that this version is very different. She and Cretton focused on portraying her as a "hurt teenager" who is lonely, angry, and desperate. Jean is still learning about her abilities, does not believe she is a villain, and thinks her actions are justified. Cretton said using a young, lonely person as the villain solidified his understanding of the film's ideas.

Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds:Parker's former best friend who attended MIT with MJ. He has created an app called "Spidey Tracker" in the hopes of learning who Spider-Man is, to thank him for saving Ned and his classmates while they were in high school as seen in the previous films. Batalon said Ned and MJ live "really great full lives" despite both feeling that "something's kind of missing" since forgetting about Parker.

Production

Development

Sony Pictures said in August 2019 that it would not be making future Spider-Man films with Marvel Studios and its president, Kevin Feige, after negotiations to update the production deal between the two companies failed. Sony co-produced Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) with Marvel Studios and Amy Pascal, and was reported to be developing two more films. Following a negative fan reaction, Sony and Marvel's parent company Disney returned to negotiations and announced a new agreement at the end of September, allowing Marvel Studios and Feige to produce Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) with Pascal. In February 2021, Peter Parker / Spider-Man star Tom Holland said No Way Home was the final film in his contract but he hoped to continue playing the character, and later added that any further Spider-Man films would differ from the previous trilogy and feature a tonal change.

Around the release of No Way Home in December 2021, Holland said he was unsure if he should continue making Spider-Man films, feeling he would have done something wrong if he were still portraying the character in his thirties. He was interested in a film being made about Miles Morales / Spider-Man instead, and added that he would be saddened to leave the franchise but he had achieved what he wanted with the character. Despite these comments, Pascal hoped to continue working with Holland on future Spider-Man films, and said work on the first film in a new trilogy was about to begin. Aaron Couch at The Hollywood Reporter said Sony did not yet have official plans for further MCU Spider-Man films but hoped to continue its collaboration with Marvel Studios. Pascal hoped the partnership between Sony and Disney would last forever, and Feige promised that it would not break down again as it did during No Way Home's development. He said Holland would return in another MCU film and confirmed that Marvel Studios had begun discussing the story for the next Spider-Man film with Pascal, Sony, and Disney.

By April 2022, Sony was expecting director Jon Watts to return from the previous trilogy after he exited as director of Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four film (2025). Sony Pictures CEO and chairman Tom Rothman hoped the "whole group" would return, including Watts, Holland, and Zendaya—Holland's then-girlfriend and later wife who portrays Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson. In February 2023, Feige said writers were working on a story with "big ideas", but this was put on hold in May because of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Pascal said work would resume after the strike concluded. Holland said he was in meetings about ideas and "ambitions" for the film, and these were also put on hold due to the strike. He was happy with the creative reasoning for why a fourth film should be made, but was apprehensive about the stigma surrounding fourth films. He felt they "hit a home run" with the first three films, calling No Way Home the "perfect send-off", and part of him wanted to exit the franchise on that high note and "pass the baton" to another actor. Holland only wanted to return if they could "do justice to the character".

Pre-production

In February 2025, filming was confirmed to start in mid-2025 in London, and the release date was pushed back a week to July 31, 2026, to distance it from the release of The Odyssey earlier that month. In March, Sadie Sink was cast as Jean Grey, a member of the X-Men in the comics. She was offered the role without auditioning, having worked with Cretton on the film The Glass Castle (2017). Her character was kept secret until the film's release, and became the subject of speculation, with many believing it to be Jean. Pascal likened this to Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield appearing as previous versions of Spider-Man in No Way Home, which was also kept secret until that film's release and became the subject of speculation. Pascal and Cretton both said the secrecy was for the benefit of surprising fans upon the film's release. At the end of March, Holland and Cretton announced the title as Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Mckenna and Sommers said the creative team wanted to differentiate the film from the previous trilogy by not using "home" in the title. "Brand New Day" is a 2008 comic book storyline that has some similarities to this film, and they found that title "just too appealing" for a story that shows a fresh start for its main character.

Liza Colón-Zayas joined the cast in May, as detective Jean DeWolff, while Zendaya and Jacob Batalon—who portrays Ned Leeds—were confirmed to be returning from the previous films in June. Filming was set to begin that August, and Jon Bernthal was revealed to be reprising his MCU role of Frank Castle / Punisher. Holland and Bernthal worked together on the film Pilgrimage (2017) and helped each other during the casting process for their respective MCU roles. Holland said it was challenging to include an R-rated character like the Punisher in Brand New Day, and they worked to ensure an "authentic" portrayal of Castle, including by finding workarounds for his profanity and violence; in one example, Spider-Man covers Castle's mouth with webs when he tries to swear. Bernthal said it was important to himself, Holland, and Cretton that the film's portrayal of Castle feel like the same character that is seen in the Disney+ television special The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026).

The filmmakers were in constant discussions with the creative team behind the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again (2025–present), to ensure "impacts are felt" between the two projects and events line up for their shared characters, such as Castle and Sheila Rivera. Marvel Television head Brad Winderbaum said the tones of each project were different but they exist in the same world. Following rumors that Mark Ruffalo would reprise his MCU role of Bruce Banner / Hulk, his casting was confirmed with the start of filming in August 2025. The Hollywood Reporter's Couch and Borys Kit said Ruffalo's role only "firmed up" as the script came together in the lead-up to filming. The previous MCU Spider-Man films each featured a major MCU co-star as part of Sony's deal with Marvel Studios, similar to the Marvel Team-Up comic books that feature Spider-Man teaming-up with different heroes. They felt Brand New Day was "stacking the deck" by featuring both Bernthal and Ruffalo. Holland previously expressed interest in Spider-Man teaming-up with the Hulk, enjoying an image from the comics of the pair together and believing they should have a "big brother–little brother" dynamic. Bringing the two characters together on screen was a long-held dream for Feige. Also in August, Michael Mando was set to reprise his role as Mac Gargan / Scorpion from Homecoming, following up on that film's mid-credits scene.

Filming

Principal photography began on August 3, 2025, in Glasgow under the working title Blue Oasis, with Brett Pawlak returning as cinematographer from many of Cretton's previous films. The film was shot in two aspect ratios, 2.39:1 for wide screens and 1.90:1 for digital IMAX. Holland was inspired by director Christopher Nolan's efficient approach on The Odyssey and wanted to bring a similar work ethic to Brand New Day, insisting that they have each day's filming planned ahead of time, and that practical stunts be performed when possible. Peng Zhang coordinated the fight sequences, returning from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Some stunts were inspired by the Marvel's Spider-Man video game series, including its finishing moves. The production team analyzed footage of wingsuit flyers and parkour athletes for the scenes where Spider-Man swings on his webs. For the fight between Parker and the Hand, when the latter are under Jean's control, Zhang choreographed the ninjas in a bird wing-inspired formation, referencing Jean's comic book connection to the Phoenix Force. Dance choreographer Nathan Kim designed the body movements for when Jean is body hopping, which were not altered during post-production.

Bernthal was set to film his scenes back-to-back with One Last Kill, which finished filming in early August 2025. Production for Brand New Day was scheduled for around two weeks throughout Glasgow city centre—including Merchant City, George Square, and Trongate—for scenes set in New York, including the film's opening action sequence with the tank. Holland was excited to start principal photography with location shooting after production on No Way Home was restricted to soundstages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was glad fans could experience the start of filming with the cast and crew.

Filming took place at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey, England, on August 7, 2025, for scenes of Parker visiting May's grave. These were some of the first non-stunt scenes filmed. After filming the cemetery shots they needed for the opening montage, Cretton asked Holland to do another take that could be used for the end of the film. Holland improvised a line about deciding not to go it alone anymore, which Cretton added to the film. He said this became their "north star", distilling the film to a core idea that they could work backward from. Tramell Tillman joined the cast at the end of August, as Bill Metzger, the head of the Department of Damage Control (DODC). Soundstage work took place at Pinewood for most of September. For the scene where Parker is bonding with Ned, Holland asked to stop filming because it did not feel organic and he felt it needed to be reworked; filming was stopped for the day and the actors all contributed ideas before Cretton and Kuritzkes rewrote the scene.

Post-production

In January 2026, Justin Kroll from Deadline Hollywood reported that Feige had been solely focused on the production of Doomsday and Secret Wars for the last year, and had let Pascal handle much of the production for Brand New Day; Cretton disputed this. In addition to Feige and Pascal, other producers on the film included frequent Spider-Man film producer Avi Arad and Pascal's producing partner Rachel O'Connor.

The first trailer was released in March, publicly revealing the Hand's return from the Marvel Netflix series; Zabryna Guevara reprising her role as Sheila Rivera from Born Again for a shot in which her character hands Spider-Man the key to New York City; Eman Esfandi as a new love interest for MJ; and Keith David as the narrator of a nature documentary about spiders. Feige indicated in mid-July that Florence Pugh would reprise her MCU role of Yelena Belova ahead of her appearance in Doomsday, which was confirmed at the end of the month, when Rosario Dawson revealed that she reprised her role as Claire Temple from Marvel's Netflix series for a scene that had been cut. It showed her meeting Parker at a hospital after he fights Scorpion and before he seeks advice from Banner. Additionally, Marisa Tomei reprised her role as Parker's Aunt May from the previous trilogy.

Brand New Day was edited by Nat Sanders, Gina Sansom, and Harry Yoon, all reuniting with Cretton from previous projects. Sanders and Sansom began work during pre-production and filming, working with Cretton on the previsualization process, with Yoon joining later. Several rounds of test screenings were held during the editing process. The first assembly cut was around 170 to 180 minutes, and was edited down to 144 minutes. This was primarily done by reducing scenes, particularly action sequences, rather than cutting full scenes. Sanders and Sansom worked on the opening montage and tried to balance a fun opening with the sadness of Parker's situation. In April 2026, additional photography was taking place in London after the second test screening, adding new footage to clarify the connection between Parker's evolving abilities and his isolation, such as mentions of headaches and pain in his wrists early in the film. Holland said they were putting "icing on the cake", adding humor and incorporating a villain plotline in a new way. There was a cut that was influenced by the test screenings which he felt "totally didn't work", although Cretton said it was similar to the final version and had just been "overcut". Yelena's introduction, seemingly naked underwater in the bathhouse, was discussed for its perceived sexual undertones. The writers enjoyed how she was "putting [Parker] on his heels" in the scene, and the creative team felt it was appropriate for a more grown-up Spider-Man film. Adjustments were made in post-production to make the water more opaque in response to concerns from younger test screen viewers who found the scene uncomfortable.

Music

Michael Giacchino was confirmed in December 2025 to be returning as composer from the previous MCU Spider-Man films. He removed some musical notes from his Spider-Man theme to represent the pieces of Parker's life that he has lost. A soundtrack album was released by Sony Classical on July 31, 2026. Ned's "Spidey Tracker" app uses the theme song from the animated series Spider-Man (1967–1970).

Marketing

Cretton discussed the film at Sony's CinemaCon panel in March 2025, where Holland appeared via a video message to announce the title. Commentators noted the appropriateness of the title, considering the "Brand New Day" comic book storyline explores a reset for Spider-Man following the events of the 2007–2008 "One More Day" storyline. There was speculation about what impact the events of Doomsday would have on the film, and whether specific elements from "Brand New Day" would be adapted such as having Parker make a deal with Mephisto to resurrect Aunt May. Kevin Erdmann of Screen Rant said the "One More Day" and "Brand New Day" storylines were controversial, in part because they reverted Spider-Man's character growth and relationships. He felt the film could follow a similar storyline without undoing the character growth.

On August 1, 2025—known as "Spider-Man Day"—Sony released an eight-second teaser showing glimpses of the new Spider-Man costume, featuring raised webbing similar to Maguire's suits, and the same faint hexagonal design on the red-and-blue fabric from Holland's previous suits. A 22-second teaser giving a full view of Holland in costume, directed by his brother Harry, was released the next day. Justin Carter at Gizmodo said the biggest change other than the raised webbing was the larger spider logo on the chest. Carter also noted the use of Giacchino's MCU Spider-Man theme in the teaser. Jordan Moreau at Variety said the full costume was closer to the comics than Holland's previous costumes, while McKinley Franklin of The Hollywood Reporter said it resembled the suits worn by Maguire and Garfield. On August 10, Sony released a behind-the-scenes video recapping the first day of filming. Variety's Jack Dunn felt Sony and Marvel had been generous with the amount of looks at the film so far.

The first trailer was released on March 18, 2026. Sony partnered with fans and content creators to release short clips of the trailer on the previous day. Tom Bacon at ComicBook.com compared this release strategy to a cast announcement livestream that Marvel Studios used for Doomsday the prior year, noting how both were intended to "maximize engagement" throughout the day. Rebecah Jacobs at Men's Journal and Kaitlyn Booth of Bleeding Cool both described the rollout as a scavenger hunt. Commentators noted that the footage includes the film's homage to the cover of Amazing Fantasy #15, and revealed that Parker's superpowers are mutating to include organic web shooters and black eyes. Some believed this was an adaptation of "The Other" or "The Six Arms Saga" from The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #100–102 (1971). Sony said the trailer became the most-viewed ever, with 718.6 million views in 24 hours according to market research firm WaveMetrix. It surpassed the record for a film trailer, Deadpool & Wolverine's 365 million views, in eight hours, and surpassed the overall 24-hour record set by the video game Grand Theft Auto VI (2026). WaveMetrix further reported that the trailer surpassed 1.1 billion views within four days, the first film trailer to cross that threshold.

Release

Theatrical

Spider-Man: Brand New Day premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on July 27, 2026. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, the film's international release began on July 29 and it opened in the majority of its markets, including the United Kingdom, over the next two days. In the United States, early screenings occurred for Amazon Prime members on July 29, before it opened on July 31 in 4,487 theaters. The film was released in premium large formats (PLFs) such as ScreenX, RealD 3D, D-Box, Dolby Cinema, and 4DX. It was also released in IMAX for select international markets, such as China, Japan, and Korea, but not in other markets where The Odyssey had exclusive use. Brand New Day was made available in IMAX globally starting August 6, sharing digital screens with The Odyssey while that film retained exclusive use of IMAX's 70 mm theaters.

Brand New Day is part of Phase Six of the MCU. It was previously scheduled for release on July 24, one week after The Odyssey's debut, but it was delayed by a week to avoid contention with that film. Disney had intended to release an unspecified Marvel Studios film on July 24, but removed this from the company's release schedule in August 2024 which allowed Sony to schedule Brand New Day then.

Home media

In April 2021, Sony signed deals with Netflix and Disney for the rights to their 2022 to 2026 film slate, following the films' theatrical and home media windows. Netflix signed for exclusive "pay 1 window" streaming rights, which is typically an 18-month window and included future Spider-Man films following No Way Home. Disney signed for "pay 2 window" rights for the films, which would be streamed on Disney+ and Hulu as well as broadcast on Disney's linear television networks. In January 2026, Sony and Netflix announced a new agreement giving Netflix "pay 1 window" rights globally, an increase from just the United States, Germany, and Southeast Asia in the previous deal. The new agreement would begin later in 2026 as territory rights become available, before being fully in effect in early 2029.

Reception

Box office

As of August 30, 2026, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has grossed $892 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.442 billion in other territories, for a worldwide total of $2.333 billion, making it the highest-grossing film of 2026, and the fifth-highest grossing film of all time. Its $932 million opening weekend was the second-best of all time behind Avengers: Endgame (2019). On August 3, it became the second-fastest film to gross $1 billion, doing so in six days. On August 16, it became the second-fastest film to gross $2 billion and the first Spider-Man film to do so.

The film had the best first-day ticket pre-sales in five years since No Way Home in 2021, which had an estimated $78 million in pre-sales. Total pre-sales were $150 million, a record. It had the highest opening weekend gross of all time at $360 million, surpassing Endgame ($357.1 million). Wednesday and Thursday preview screenings accounted for $72 million, surpassing the record previously held by Endgame ($60 million). The opening day gross (including previews) of $169.8 million also surpassed Endgame's record ($157.4 million). The Saturday and Sunday grosses of $101.5 million and $88.7 million, respectively, were both second best all-time to Endgame ($109.2 million and $90.3 million). Pre-release estimates had the film grossing $260–280 million in its opening weekend, with Sony estimating a $195 million opening. Its fourth and fifth days of release saw the highest Monday and Tuesday grosses of any film at $47 million and $42 million, respectively, and its Wednesday gross of $32.7 million was the second-best behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). The second weekend gross of $144 million was the third-biggest behind Endgame ($147 million) and The Force Awakens ($149 million), and the highest-grossing second weekend for a Sony film, while its third weekend gross of $71 million was the second highest behind The Force Awakens ($90.2 million). The film remained top of the box office in its fourth and fifth weekends.

Brand New Day became the fastest film to gross $500 million, $700 million, and $800 million, doing so in seven, 13, and 19 days, respectively. It is the highest grossing film of 2026, and second-highest grossing film ever, after The Force Awakens.

The film grossed $573 million its opening weekend, surpassing the pre-release estimates of $275–300 million. It opened as the number one film in 66 box office markets, and had the highest-grossing opening weekend all-time in at least 11 countries, including France ($26.6 million), Brazil ($23.8 million), Spain ($15.6 million), and Peru ($8.6 million). In its second weekend, it remained the top film in most of its 67 markets. It surpassed $1 billion in 12 days, the second-fastest after Endgame. It became the highest-grossing Hollywood film in India. By its fourth weekend, Brand New Day had become the highest-grossing Sony film in 56 markets. As of August 30, 2026, the film's top-grossing markets include China ($227.4 million), the United Kingdom ($125.2 million), Mexico ($88.2 million), France ($81.6 million), and Brazil ($70.2 million). It is the highest-grossing film of 2026.

Critical response

Brand New Day received largely positive reviews from critics, with praise for Holland's performance, the action sequences, and the more mature, character-driven story compared to the previous MCU Spider-Man films. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of 425 critics gave a positive review and the average of rated reviews was 7.6/10. The critics consensus reads, "Spinning a web of spectacular set pieces together with mature emotional stakes and Tom Holland's soulful performance, Brand New Day is a promising reset that portends Spidey will remain sticky on the big screen for years to come." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 66 out of 100 based on 56 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while 88% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film.

Pete Hammond for Deadline Hollywood called Brand New Day a "dark and thrilling new chapter" for the franchise, praising Holland's performance, Cretton's direction, and the film's balance of character drama and superhero action. Owen Gleiberman at Variety praised the film for its action, villain, and Holland's performance, but described the film as "arduous", "clunkily episodic", and "half an hour too long", arguing that it is more self-serious than emotionally involving. Peter Bradshaw for The Guardian praised the ambitious tone, strong performances and emotional focus, particularly highlighting Zendaya and Holland's chemistry. However, he found the film uneven, with some familiar superhero elements limiting its impact.

William Bibbiani of TheWrap praised Brand New Day as "a fantastic film about Peter Parker" and "one of the highlights of the whole franchise", commending its emotional, character-driven story and the performances of Holland and Bernthal, despite criticizing the villain's plan as illogical. Empire's John Nugent gave the film four out of five stars, praising its grounded, comic-faithful approach and Holland's performance, describing Spider-Man as "still Marvel's ace in the pack", while noting that the second half loses momentum due to unnecessary ties to the wider MCU. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised Cretton's direction for balancing "adrenaline and feeling", while highlighting "the humanity that has always been Spidey's greatest strength", Holland's "never-better" performance, and the film's emotional focus on Peter, though he criticized occasional pacing issues and plot convolutions.

David Ehrlich at IndieWire gave the film a C−, describing it as a "dull and downbeat action sequel" that "causes more problems than it cures", criticizing its pacing, its reliance on MCU setup, and its failure to meaningfully advance Peter's story, although he praised Holland's performance and considered Cretton "a more sure-footed stylist" than Watts. David Fear for Rolling Stone criticized the film for relying too heavily on fan service, MCU crossovers and franchise setup at the expense of Spider-Man's story, arguing that Peter risks becoming "a supporting player in his own movie", while praising Holland's performance and the emotional scenes between Peter and MJ.

Accolades

Spider-Man: Brand New Day was nominated for Most Anticipated Film at the 9th Astra Midseason Movie Awards.

Future

Pascal stated in November 2021 that Brand New Day was planned to be the first film in a new Spider-Man trilogy starring Holland. In early 2026, Holland revisited his previous comments about not wanting to play Spider-Man past the age of 30 and hoping to pass the mantle to another actor. Since the latter had not yet happened by his 30th birthday, Holland said he may need to "change the quote to 37" and added that "playing Spider-Man has been the joy of my life... I'll do it for as long as they'll have me." In July, Holland said he had a clear vision for how he wanted to pass the mantle. Feige said Miles Morales would be introduced in live-action following the release of the animated film Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2027), and he had discussed ideas for the next five live-action Spider-Man films with Pascal. The latter hoped Cretton would be involved in future films, and Cretton said he was open to directing another. Following Brand New Day's release, Rothman said there had not yet been concrete discussions about Holland returning for a fifth film, while Feige said Holland and Zendaya would be taking a break before any new plans were confirmed.