The quotes in this article have been edited for clarity.
In his first outing as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Spider-Man fought (half of) The Avengers. Since then, Tom Holland’s version of the Amazing hero has gone up against some of the biggest villains in his universe and those of his multiversal counterparts have to offer, but what about the street-level thugs that made him your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man?
That’s the premise of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which marks the character’s spectacular return to the big screen after five years, and Peter Parker isn’t quite the eager, starry-eyed recruit Tony Stark turned into an Avenger. Great power, after all, comes with great responsibility, and it comes at a great cost that was established in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) – the world has forgotten that Peter Parker exists, now that he has erased himself from everyone’s memory to protect the multiverse. Instead of travelling the world to save it, he’s back in New York City and resuming his vigilantism for years alone, without support from his love interest MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), both of whom don’t remember him. Aunt May is also no longer around, which makes for an isolating experience, especially for a teenager-turned-young-adult who’s had a taste of friendship and, by extension, some semblance of normal life.
This sense of loneliness will be one of his biggest fights here, alongside new threats and a surprising, potentially dangerous evolution of his powers. Describing this upcoming fourth instalment as a “cautionary tale for the dangers of living a life alone and not having a community,” Holland, who hosted a press conference alongside new franchise director Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and co-stars Zendaya (Dune), Jon Bernthal (The Accountant) and Sadie Sink (The Whale), highlights how the famous scene in No Way Home, featuring all three generations of live-action Spider-Man – Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Holland – had a deeper significance beyond the fan service and viral potential.
“A lesson that he learned from Andrew’s character in the previous movie is that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is ask for help,” he shares from the virtual press conference held in New York that Geek Culture attended.
“He’s actively ignoring that advice, and it’s having a profound effect on his life as a human being.”
But this is also the version of Spidey that fans know from the comics since his inception in 1962, when the wall crawler slowly swung into the top rungs of the popularity ladder, where instead of fighting cosmic threats, the webslinger devotes his life to protecting the everyday city streets, which remains a core part of his character even across different iterations and generations.
The 30-year-old adds, “On the other side, he’s thriving as Spider-Man. You know, we’re probably seeing the most truthful version of what Spider-Man means to New York City at the beginning of this movie, and the smashing of those two worlds is such a fun thing for us to play with.”
The trailer released earlier in March makes no secret of his struggles: Peter has to watch his MJ and Ned move on without him, with the former even having a moment with Peter’s ex-classmate and bully Manuel / Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori). Add the lack of access to high-tech gadgets, a solitary home, and an almost careless disregard for his own life into the mix, and it’s safe to say that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will put him through the lowest point of his life so far.
It’s a stark contrast to the beacon of positivity fans have come to expect from the web-slinging hero, which not only sets up a return to the street-level stories that Spider-Man is beloved for but also offers room to toy with his relationship with other characters. For Zendaya, the role reversal between MJ and Peter was particularly interesting to explore, shaking up their dynamics in a way that had never been done with their versions of the characters.
“It was fun to investigate and think about what [MJ and Ned’s] lives would have been like without Peter. For us, he never existed, but clearly there’s an effect of Peter on our lives, and the fact that we’re even friends and still living in New York together must mean something,” explains the Euphoria star, who married Holland in a secret wedding earlier this year.
“In the previous films, MJ was always the pessimist, and it was Peter who was always the optimist. It’s interesting to see that reversal now that he’s alone and has adopted the negativity, while she adopted his positivity without even knowing it.”
Then, there’s another callback to Maguire and Garfield’s cameos in No Way Home and their advice to Holland’s counterpart of sharing the pain, so he’s never alone in carrying the burden of being the hero. “I think, in many ways, this film is grappling with those ideas and really confronting the things they warned him about, so I’m rooting for him, but… it’s not looking good!”
Optimism is hardly the only element synonymous with Spider-Man, however. From the comic books to the Marvel’s Spider-Man video games, New York remains integral to his identity, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day will continue to honour his hometown. To shape the look and tone of the film, the team expanded their visual influences outside of superhero movies, including 2025’s Lucky Lu, which director Cretton, in his second MCU outing, describes as “down-and-dirty, authentic New York City.”
“We were looking at a lot of movies shot in New York City for ways to try to create a really authentic look,” reveals the filmmaker. ”We felt after that first excursion that if we could capture the feeling you get when you walk the streets of the city, then we would be, in a sense, capturing the heart of Spider-Man and Peter Parker.”
Holland agrees, stating that the people are the best part about the metropolis. “It’s probably one of the best cities in the world to just sit down and people-watch, and for Spider-Man to be part of that people, a part of the community, is such an amazing thing… New York is as big a character in this movie as any of us sat here today.”
One thing the film does repeat is the introduction of a superhero mentor for Peter. In his debut in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and first standalone film, 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, it was Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) aka Iron Man, followed by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in No Way Home. This time, the film introduces two: Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner aka Hulk, who doesn’t recognise or remember Peter Parker, and The Punisher aka Frank Castle.
Just as No Way Home featured a cameo by attorney Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), Brand New Day will mark the big-screen debut of Jon Bernthal’s criminal vigilante. Like Murdock, Castle was first introduced in a series of MCU TV shows on Netflix, and two seasons, a re-appearance in Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again, and a one-shot special later, the anti-hero is set to appear alongside his native New Yorker contemporary.
The forthcoming team-up is significant for several reasons – firstly, the two characters have crossed paths in the comics multiple times, and their clashing morals feed into the tension and rivalry between them. As good friends in real life, Bernthal and Holland, who also currently appear in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, get to bask in each other’s company, but what’s more impressive is inviting an anti-hero characterised by violence and destruction along for a family-friendly outing.
The challenge, then, is abiding by PG-rated guidelines while still staying true to Frank’s rough edges, and the trailer hints at their dynamics in action. At one point, Peter shoots a web at Frank’s mouth as he mouths off “Motherf**ker” before telling him to “go home”, and it’s the kind of abrasive, almost-playful energy that would fit both universes.
Bernthal expresses, “What we set out to do is to make it believable that the Punisher could walk out of one of those TV-MA shows and onto this set and vice versa, and I think you’re going to get that, while also paying respect to the unbelievable tone of this film.”
“It gave us the perfect conflict to carry through every scene that we have together, and the way in which it’s resolved is so fulfilling and satisfying, but also scary,” Holland chimes in with his two cents. “I think Destin managed that tonal shift in such an amazing way because I feel like we don’t compromise Frank and the Punisher in any way.”
Another newcomer key to the Spider-Man: Brand New Day story is an unnamed character, played by Stranger Things star Sadie Sink, who remains tight-lipped about her involvement throughout the press conference, even as the moderator and her co-star poked fun at it.
“There’s no character name in here, weird,” quips moderator Josh Horowitz, of Happy Sad Confused podcast fame. “Yeah, strange, right?” responds Sink, to which Batalon followed up with a witty, “Stranger things have happened. I was sitting on that all year.” Cue all-around laughter.
The secrecy continued with two firm ‘No’s when asked if she could share the general challenges of taking on the role, but Holland sings her praises as “an unsung hero” who brings a “breath of fresh air [that] hasn’t been seen before in one of these movies.” Longtime Spider-Man producer Amy Pascal, meanwhile, teases a universal theme that unites everyone in the sequel, including Sink’s mysterious counterpart, both old and new:
“The thing that’s true for her character and every other character is that they’re all going through the same thing – the sense of isolation and feeling different, alienated, and in denial about the lives they’re living.”
After spinning a web of heroics for years, it’s easy to forget that Peter is still growing into his own person. He turns 21 in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, traditionally an age that heralds the start of adulthood, and is compounded by the anxieties of everyday life with higher stakes and more tangible, long-lasting consequences. Cementing the webslinger’s street-level appeal established over decades, Holland tapped into real-world events and the struggles of young adults for his latest portrayal to show that it’s okay not to be okay, and that those who feel that way aren’t alone.
“It’s just so true to what young people are going through on a daily basis,” enthuses the British star.
“I kind of dove into this new idea because it felt so relatable [and] prevalent with what’s happening in the world. I love telling a movie on this scale that’s something that I really think will resonate with young people.”
Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theatres on 30 July.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
