Spider-Man: Brand New Day, 2026.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.
Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, Mark Ruffalo, Liza Colón-Zayas, Marvin Jones III, Eman Esfandi, Zabryna Guevara, and Keith David.
SYNOPSIS:
A forgotten Peter Parker lives alone as a full-time Spider-Man until mounting pressure triggers a dangerous change and a powerful new enemy emerges.
Spider-Man has swung his way back into theatres with Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton stepping into the director’s chair for one of the best Spider-Man films to date. Spider-Man: Brand New Day showcases Tom Holland’s strong understanding of Peter Parker/Spider-Man with an emotive performance, capturing Spidey’s humour and unwell mental state as he pushes himself to the brink.
Brand New Day lives up to its title as Peter suffers from the ramifications of No Way Home‘s ending where Peter chose to have the world’s memories of him, including those of his girlfriend MJ and best friend Ned, erased in order to save it. Rather than making his friends remember him or moving on and making new friends, Peter has thrust himself into being Spider-Man almost full time, neglecting any sort of personal life and ignoring his physical and psychological limits. Holland delivers what might be his strongest performance as Peter/Spidey as he conveys the toll it has all taken on him, whether through his facial expressions and body language from watching MJ and Ned’s lives from afar to his dialogue deliveries. As par for the course with Spidey, Holland does a great job balancing Spidey’s fast-witted humour and emotional trauma as the ol’ Parker Luck puts Peter’s happiness to the test.
Backing Holland up is Zendaya and it should go without saying the pair’s chemistry is fantastic. Zendaya is able to show more to MJ’s character in this film now that she is without Peter in her life. Her dry delivery of MJ’s sarcasm and wit is complimented by the emotions she puts into the role in the latter half of the movie, particularly in one scene where she stretches her acting muscles very differently than how she’s previously presented MJ. Jacob Batalon doesn’t have quite as much screentime as Ned’s previous roles, but he injects levity when its needed and likewise shares great chemistry with Holland.
Reprising their roles from the MCU are Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk who don’t take away from Spider-Man which has sometimes been the case when big Marvel stars have shared the spotlight in the MCU Spider-Man films. Despite this being more of a sanitized version of Punisher than what’s been in the Daredevil and Punisher series, his gruff exterior remains intact and the back-and-forth between Frank and Spidey is just as entertaining as Frank’s is with Murdock since Spidey brings out a different side to the infamous vigilante by relating through their trauma. As for Ruffalo, it is nice to see him Hulk out for the first time in ages without his appearance overshadowing the other battles and character development.
Of the new additions, Sadie Sink is the clear standout as the mysterious antagonist. The range she displays is nicely varied as she goes through several emotions and shares nice chemistry with Holland, making their battle a very captivating one as its blends their personal issues with the overall danger at risk while Severance‘s Tramell Tillman brings his effortless charm to his role. They both add intrigue as they keep their cards close to their chest, playing up their true objectives and letting the audience guess alongside Spidey as to what is really going on.
To that end, the juggles a lot of elements but the focus doesn’t lose sight of Spidey’s personal struggles among the action sequences and MCU guest appearances. Cretton puts the characters first and foremost while also delivering some very exciting action with incredible choreography. This should come as no surprise given Shang-Chi, but Brand New Day‘s blend of practical effects and CGI during the action is crisp and smooth with Spidey’s movements that are the best webslinging fans will have seen since the Amazing Spider-Man films. It is clear Cretton, the stunt team and rest of production took inspiration from several sources for Spider-Man’s tactics and many of his moves seem pulled right from the latest PlayStation Spider-Man games (which should come as no surprise given Holland is an avid fan of them and incorporated some of those moves into No Way Home).
All in all, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a fantastic reset for the iconic hero. Cretton’s direction puts the characters first and action second, mixing them together to deliver the best emotional result possible. The performances from Holland, Zendaya and Sink really capture the strength of the story and script with how personal the stakes are while Bernthal is a nice addition that doesn’t make Punisher any less of the violent vigilante he is in the shows. Brand New Day is a fun, emotional and driven adventure for everyone’s favourite wallcrawler.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★/ Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Ricky Church
