“I see your face with every punch I take
And every bone I break, it’s all for you
And my worst pains are words I cannot say
Still I will always fight on for you”– From “Gifts and Curses” by Yellowcard
The following review will only cover aspects introduced in the pre-theatrical release marketing and shall endeavor to avoid anything not revealed through official channels. Additionally, there is a sequence in the third act climax that may prove triggering for photosensitive individuals due to massive white-gold flashes and blue strobing. I recommend taking precautions before viewing.
In 2016, well before the label “Infinity Saga” was applied to the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was a question as to how the MCU would react in the aftermath of the choices made in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). The answer would come in Captain America: Civil War (2016) as a government-driven wedge would cause The Avengers to divide into factions of “for” and “against,” leading to a confrontation at a German airport in which friends would face friends. Among them, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) would recruit a New York-based vigilante previously unseen by live-action audiences, Peter Parker (Tom Holland), the Spider-Man. Since then, Holland has appeared in a supportive role in two additional Avengers titles and headlined his own trilogy directed by Jon Watts (Wolfs), stories that focused on the high school experience of Peter as he tries to balance heroic dreams with grounded reality. Now, with Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings; Short Term 12) in the director’s chair and Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna (Homecoming trilogy for both) returning as screenwriters, Holland offers his most adult interpretation of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man with a tale that’s more amazing than astonishing, yet capturing the humanity that makes Web-head such a fan favorite.
Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Columbia Pictures SPIDER-MAN™: BRAND NEW DAY. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures. ©2026 CTMG. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2026 MARVEL.
With the casting of the memory spell by Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), all of the multiversal beings threatening to cross into Peter Parker’s (Holland) world were successfully blocked; however, it did result in everyone he ever knew forgetting that Peter existed. Though he promised girlfriend MJ and best friend Ned (Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, respectively) that he would track them down and tell them the truth, remind them of what they mean to each other, his fear of them getting hurt or, worse, killed like Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), causes him to falter on that promise. Now, years later, Peter’s alter ego Spider-Man is a respected member of New York City, working alongside NYPD to stop thieves across the five boroughs. However, when a brand-new threat emerges, one that possesses and repossesses bodies at-will, Spider-Man is tasked by Damage Control to bring in the individual responsible. However, the closer he gets to the threat, the more likely it becomes that MJ and Ned are going to be pulled right back in.
There are two constants about Peter Parker — he’s almost always down on his luck and he’s always looking toward the future brightly. Even as he walks two worlds, that of person and hero, he strives to be the best version of himself that he can, taking plenty of hits so that others don’t have to. In the MCU, Peter was given his Aunt May (no indication of Uncle Ben’s influence aside from a piece of luggage used in 2019’s Far From Home), a best friend in Ned (his “man in the chair”), and a stranger-turned-friend-turned-girlfriend in Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson. In all three of the Homecoming films, he had a safety net and a guiding hand until all of that went away with the spell. Brand New Day makes for the first time that this Peter Parker stands alone and we get to see what that hero looks like. With the assured performance from Holland who fully embodies the duality expressed by Peter as he grapples with being solitary as a person and idolized as a hero, audiences embark on an adventure that’s far more mature than any appearance thus far and signals a massive turning point for the character ideologically, as well as statistically. Interestingly, the approach taken is an inverse to 2004’s Spider-Man 2 through the more advanced sci-fi lens of the MCU, all while recognizing that the best thing to win a fight isn’t a strong hand, but a light touch.
L-R: Tom Holland as Peter Parker and Mark Ruffalo as Professor Bruce Banner in Columbia Pictures SPIDER-MAN™: BRAND NEW DAY. Photo Credit: Jay Maidment. ©2025 CTMG. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2025 MARVEL.
If you’ve been following Holland’s heroic journey, it may seem strange to suggest that this time things are different for Peter as he tries to both be a hero and person at the same time. Each effort — whether it’s discovering he’s trying to date Vulture’s (Michael Keaton) daughter, Mysterio’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) interuption of his school’s Euro-class trip, or helping his friends get accepted by MIT despite their association with him and alienation from them — has incorporated the duality of the character and the struggles he faces. What’s different here is the representation of over-correction. That Peter chooses to be alone, which, frankly, comes off as penance for crimes he feels he’s committed which, while still immature, is decidedly Peter. He carries the burden of his heroism because he’s terrified that someone else will catch the bullet meant for him and he does it all with a joke and a laugh, aspects which imply that he still hasn’t grown up that much from his high school days (he’s only theoretically four years post-graduation). Interestingly, what the film explores is the abdication of choice that such a decision brings about. The original Homecoming trilogy continuously builds on this with him — his selfishness creating the greater danger that he must then figure out how to deal with. Within Brand New Day, the challenge for Peter is recognizing within himself that he *deserves* companionship, whether through friends or loved ones, and that a monastic lifestyle doesn’t protect others and it harms him. Thus, the script introduces an inverse of Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker wherein, rather than losing his powers, they are mutating into unknown territory, pushing Holland’s Peter further toward his superhero identity.
Though it feels familiar, walking narrative ground tread by hero stories over and over as the protagonist grapples with balance, the inclusion here does a beautiful job not only mirroring Peter’s conscious push toward imbalance out of fear, but dove-tailing into the antagonist of the film’s arc. What does it mean to allow your own suffering to push you past your limits? What does it mean to forego your own humanity in order to be the superior combatant? Who wins in a fight when hero and villain are indistinguishable? Amid all the jokes, of which there are many, what lands the most are the loneliness and isolation that Peter and his opposition face and the ways in which their transformations can consume them, turning them into something sensational and extraordinary or apocalyptic. Does their pain define them, radiating outward until everyone is the enemy? Or do they accept it and use it build something greater without stooping beneath what they each represent?
L-R: Zendaya as MJ and Jacob Batalon as Ned in Columbia Pictures SPIDER-MAN™: BRAND NEW DAY. Photo Credit: Jay Maidment. ©2025 CTMG. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2025 MARVEL.
Especially as the body count (non-lethal, of course) rises through the adventure, this question grows louder and louder. Iron Man 3 (2013) dabbled with tackling post-traumatic stress disorder and Thunderbolts* (2025) dove headlong into it, but Brand New Day places it front and center. Hurt people might hurt people, but they can also be the ones to recognize what’s too far and what’s beyond the pale. Sommers and McKenna thread this particular needle through the target of the antagonist’s ire and the methods they use to get what they want, as well as Peter’s own path of self-flagellation. In the case of the antagonist, that means using supposedly innocent bystanders, possessing them to do their bidding or just using them as a jumping pad to get beyond their physical reach. At first, this seems like the work of someone that doesn’t care about other people until one recognizes which possessed figures are in actual danger and which one’s aren’t. The people selected for the most danger are the ones that the antagonist, I theorize, believes to either deserve whatever happens due to their association or just sees them as a weapon to be directed. In the case of Mac Gargan/Scorpion (Michael Mando), returning from Homecoming, this is someone who has a criminal background and doesn’t appear to be interested in redemption, therefore, whatever happens to them happens — they’re a villain, what do we care? On the other hand, what of a figure like Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), who is fantastically incredible and potentially indestructible? If he’s possessed and unleashed, he’s a figure who has frequently demonstrated understanding the difference between friend and foe, who has not only acted alongside heroes, but has demonstrated that he’s not interested in hurting innocents. To possess Hulk, to get him to behave against his wishes, that’s not just criminal, it’s cruel, especially when one considers the larger context of what happened when Hulk was mind-controlled previously (Age of Ultron). Though Brand New Day doesn’t get into the weight of consequence post-narrative, glossing over it in the same way as with Sentry (Lewis Pullman) for the attack on New York, the script does at least *try* to point out who’s right, who’s wrong, and the places in which grey exists. One thing the script gets right within this narrative elements is how, someone like Scorpion, no matter how badly he tries to attack Spider-Man during an unlawful activity, Mando implies a gratefulness to see Spider-Man as he comes out of possession, aware that something happened but scared at what. This suggests that, just like the comics, Spider-Man’s roster is full of enemies who have a respect for Web-head that they may not admit out loud but understand and acknowledge among themselves.
One thing that’s absolutely worth mentioning, in addition to the reveals that occur within the third act and conclusion being among the best in the Holland Era (mostly for what they mean for Spider-Man as a hero finally coming into his own), is that the stunt work here is top-notch. This shouldn’t be surprising as the MCU is no stranger to quality stunt work, Shang-Chi’s (2021) possibly seconded by only Captain American: The Winter Soldier’s (2014) in terms of action direction. In Brand New Day, Cretton brings back Peng Zhang from Shang-Chi, now in the role of as supervising stunt coordinator. Zhang has previously worked on several other MCU-related projects and whose background includes worked under Bradley James Allan (Gorgeous; Rush Hour 2; Who Am I?), a frequent collaborator of Jackie Chan (Rush Hour series; Mr. Nice Guy; The Medallion). Those aware of Hong Kong action cinema can see the influence here as not only is the action comprehensible, it features quite a few in-camera long takes. Typically, in American cinema, action gets chopped up in the edit in order to create the sensation of impact or intensity whereas HK action utilizes longer takes where we follow the action, resulting in the audience sensing far more power and passion emanating from the sequence. There are the usual CG sequences, but these more often feel like they’ve been ripped right out of the comics, capturing that hyper-reality that the Spider-Man films walk a tightrope along, just as Peter does swinging between grounded drama with elevated situations. But whether Peter is tumbling out of a web cocoon of his own making, battling with Scorpion, or tussling with members of The Hand, there’s not a single detail we miss because of the way the sequence is structured and shot, making all the action as important as the dialogue — which is how it’s supposed to be with action cinema. Fighting is just dialogue through physical movement and it makes a huge difference when we can see and track most if not all of it.
L-R: Tom Holland as Spider-Man and Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher in Columbia Pictures SPIDER-MAN™: BRAND NEW DAY. Photo Credit: Jay Maidment. ©2025 CTMG. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2025 MARVEL.
In an effort to keep things spoiler-free, there are a lot of things that weren’t discussed here. Among the safe things to mention as we close: the incorporation of and addressing of the spell as it relates to Peter, MJ, and Ned is deftly handled, even if parts walk tropey paths; Holland (The Odyssey; Pilgrimage) and Jon Bernthal (The Odyssey; Pilgrimage) as Spider-Man and Frank Castle/The Punisher need to be partnered again, if only for our enjoyment at their bickering; and the acceptance by Peter here holds the potential for something truly ultimate moving forward, something we’ve not yet seen on screen. The film isn’t perfect, of course, and not just because the product placement is ridiculous (a New Yorker ordering Little Caesars delivery doesn’t sit well with Huntington Station-born EoM Editor Crystal Davidson who still side-eyes the Ninja Turtles for ordering Dominoes in 1990). Its villain receives no real punishment and there’s no real interrogation of this, just like it got dropped post-The Winter Soldier. But there is joy and there is pain and, as always, Peter Parker is right in the middle of it. One can only hope that Holland is able to stick around long enough to pass the mantle to another because, as this film affirms, anyone can wear the mask.
In theaters and IMAX July 31st, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Sony Pictures Spider-Man: Brand New Day website.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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