Spider-Man: Brand New Day review (2026)

If nothing else, Spider-Man: Brand New Day ensures that the Marvel Studios’ adventures of Spider-Man remain a perfect 4 for 4. A franchise’s quality tends to dip/fall off a cliff right around the third and fourth installments — see X-Men: The Last Stand, Blade: Trinity and Thor: Love and Thunder — so it’s no easy feat that Brand New Day bucks that trend.

Spider-Man: No Way Home was a singular comic book movie event as it brought the three live-action movie Spider-Man actors together against Spider-Man’s greatest enemies. It should have and absolutely was epic to the point that it grossed over $1 billion during the pandemic. This posed a massive challenge for Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s filmmakers to measure up and at least craft a respectable fourth chapter.

Fortunately, director Destin Daniel Cretton (Wonder Man) was fully up to the challenge to not just make a good Spider-Man movie, but to make one of the best installments in the entirety of the series.

Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland, The Odyssey) has had a productive four years. He’s battled scores of notorious criminals to keep New York City streets safe. Peter narrates this opening chapter as Cretton shows Spider-Man battling some of his fearsome foes including Scorpion (Michael Mando) Tombstone (Marvin Jones III, Black Lighting), Ramrod (Billy Clements), Tarantula, Boomerang and The Hand.

This sequence is fun not just because Cretton briefly spotlights some villains who couldn’t be a featured film antagonist but also it gives him the opportunity to pay homage to classic comic book covers from artists like Steve Ditko, Gil Kane, John Romita, Pat Lee, Erik Larsen and Todd McFarlane.

Cretton also erases any doubts that the quality of the series would drop after Jon Watts stepped away after directing the first three Holland films. Cretton brings a new energy and liveliness that reflects the Brand New Day theme as Spider-Man’s MCU adventures continue. From more dynamic web-slinging to first-person perspectives from Peter’s POV, Cretton gives Spider-Man a thrilling new presentation.

Following the murder of his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), Peter asked his superhero ally, Dr. Strange, to wipe away their memory of his secret identity. Peter assumed if no one knew who he was, his villains wouldn’t harm his loved ones. While a noble thought in theory, Peter clearly misses his ex(?)-girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), as he constantly catches up on their journey through college on Ned’s social media feed.

With no friends to kick back and unwind with, Peter’s closest confidant is Det. Jean DeWolffe (Liza Colón-Zayas). Brand New Day thankfully avoids the trope of having Spider-Man being considered a menace simply because he wears a mask. He’s treated like a hero — complete with a close bond to a police detective. The Spider-Man/DeWolffe segments are a surprising highlight of Brand New Day because it subverts the genre’s general handling of the police and heroes.

The one element screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who’ve penned all four of the Holland-era Spider-Man films, fail to address is how Peter is making money. Sure, it’d be easy for a hero to blend into the crowd with no loved ones that could be harmed, but how is he paying for his food deliveries? Brand New Day has enough happening to avoid showing numerous scenes of Peter working at The Daily Bugle, but a casual mention or one scene at the paper would have been welcome. Rent might be cheap, but it’s not free.

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Peter tangles with a new threat that is possessing people’s bodies en route to tracking down something at Damage Control, the cleanup/repair company tasked with restoring property after super powered conflicts. Damage Control’s director, Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning), is happy to partner with Spider-Man to ward off this threat. Peter has his own challenges as his powers are starting to evolve and his learning curve for this power boost is causing him some major headaches (literally). His AI computer assistant EV (voiced by Naomi Watts, The Impossible) can’t determine what’s happening either.

Seeking some insight, Peter turns to another nearby brilliant mind as Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is teaching at the local university. Naturally, Banner doesn’t remember his old ally, but does offer some guidance on how Peter can rein his powers in. As has been the case with too many superhero movies lately, the trailers might have revealed more than necessary. Some of the exchanges would have played better without having already seen them in the various trailers to sell a movie most audiences didn’t need convincing to see.

At some point, we know Spider-Man tangles with The Hulk and the fight doesn’t disappoint. In lieu of a standalone Hulk movie, fans have to get their fill in Avengers films and cameo appearances like this and Thor: Ragnarok. As Brand New Day isn’t a full-on Hulk co-starring film, he doesn’t have a major role, but it is impactful. Maybe Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige will green light a Spider-Man/Hulk team-up film?

The other major hero who does have a more prominent role is The Punisher (a scene stealing Jon Bernthal, The Odyssey). McKenna and Sommers don’t give fans a watered-down, PG-friendly take on Frank Castle as he’s as gruff as he’s been in Daredevil and his own series. The trick is Punisher doesn’t have any characters to “ventilate” so his actions aren’t as bloody and violent. Surprisingly, the Spider-Man and Punisher interaction works in Brand New Day since McKenna and Sommers lean onto both characters’ strengths.

There’s been a ton of speculation on the casting of Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) and her character won’t be spoiled here. She’s perfectly cast and does an excellent job with her performance. Her next appearance in the MCU should be sensational.

Holland has now established himself as the definitive live-action Peter Parker as he delivers such an earnest take on the character embodying the classic Parker luck while still being an inspirational hero. Zendaya and Batalon don’t have as meaty roles as they’ve enjoyed in previous installments, but their scenes are memorable. Not at all shocking, the Holland/Zendaya scenes deliver big time on the emotional front.

Brand New Day is two hours and 25 minutes though it doesn’t overstay its welcome. The story is full, engaging and filled with some of the best Spider-Man sequences brought to the big screen. Holland is seven MCU appearances into his stint as Spider-Man and if Brand New Day is a barometer, Marvel and Sony should remain in the Holland Spider-Man business for many years to come.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Photo Credit: Sony

After watching Spider-Man: Brand New Day, get the original trilogy on 4K at Amazon.

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