Movie Review - Marvel's Spider-Man: Brand New Day

A brand new day starts now.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a 2026 superhero film directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, produced by Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios, and Pascal Pictures, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is based off of various Spider-Man comics by Marvel Comics. The film stars Tom Holland and Zendaya. This is the thirty-eighth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the fourth in Tom Holland's Spider-Man film series. It was preceded by Spider-Man: No Way Home, Punisher: One Last Kill, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Thunderbolts* and will be followed by Avengers: Doomsday.

"Sometimes, Spider-Man has to do the right thing. Even if it breaks Peter Parker's heart." - Spider-Man

Plot

Four years after Doctor Strange cast a spell to make everyone forget about Peter Parker, crime rates in New York have dropped significantly. Peter is living his best life as the web-slinger while also living his worst life as Peter Parker. His loneliness and isolation are tested when a new invisible threat appears in New York City and seems to know all about him, putting those he loves from a distance in danger.

The Sweet

Spider-Man: Brand New Day was one of my most anticipated films of 2026 for obvious reasons. No matter what, I will always be excited for more Spidey, and there was something new and exciting about Brand New Day. It was a return to the Maguire-Garfield street-level Spider-Man that we haven't seen in over ten years. There was a layer of mystery surrounding the plot and Sadie Sink's character, so I just could not wait to see what this brand new day (pun intended) for Tom Holland's Spider-Man was going to be.

I think the biggest thing working in this movie's favor is exactly what I just said: it's a return to the classic, street-level Spider-Man that we've known in all of his movies prior to the MCU. This is the first MCU Spider-Man movie that feels like you don't have to watch any other MCU movies (besides the previous Holland trilogy) to understand what's going on. Peter stands entirely on his own - there's no Iron Man or Nick Fury or Doctor Strange to mentor him. He is the isolated hero of New York City who is struggling to balance his life as Spider-Man with his life as Peter Parker. That's the classic dichotomy that has always been huge in Spider-Man stories, and Brand New Day finally provides us with that aspect for Tom Holland.

In shaping Tom Holland's Spider-Man into a more classic version of the web-slinger, we also get some of his strongest characterization in the entire MCU. This is a more mature, grown-up Spidey who has truly learned the lesson of great power and great responsibility. Now, he is dealing with the changes and sacrifices that come along with being Spider-Man. You see the temptation to let MJ and Ned back into his life. You see him want to return to being Peter Parker, but you also see him understanding the cost and carrying the weight of May's death. This is the most complex and layered version of the MCU Spider-Man, and I think that's really refreshing to see. Like the movie itself, Holland's Peter finally stands on his own without having to have the rest of the MCU lift him up.

While the rest of the MCU does not help carry this movie, it certainly adds to it. We are closing in on twenty years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so at this point, it's just an incredibly populated world full of rich history and lore. That means that Marvel characters are bound to show up in movies like this because the plot demands it. The Hulk, the Punisher, and Yelena Belova all make appearances here, and all three of them are fantastic additions that make sense. This is the first time we've seen the classic, rageful Hulk since Avengers: Age of Ultron. The gigantic, terrifying monster that we know and love returns to battle Spider-Man here, and, although it is brief, it's awesome. Yelena's role is used sparingly as well, but her sarcastic, dry sense of humor just reminds you how awesome Florence Pugh is. Her inclusion feels very logical in the context of the story, very funny because Yelena is hilarious, and very exciting, because it reminds you that she is the face of the New Avengers for Doomsday.

But the real standout of the supporting cast here is Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle. I have not watched The Punisher or One Last Kill. I have been meaning to, but this was my first real introduction to the MCU's Punisher, and it was incredible. They manage to keep the crassness and R-rated side of Punisher there while having a PG-13 filter wrapped around it, and that makes for some really standout moments. His chemistry with Spider-Man is, in my opinion, the best part of the movie. Tom Holland has always been able to bounce off of older actors really well, and Jon Bernthal's aggressive, macho performance works beautifully against Holland's bright, light-hearted Spider-Man. Punisher and Spidey are the duo I never knew I needed. They are absolutely incredible together.

And, while I won't say much about her for spoilers, Sadie Sink is really good in the movie. If you are new to my blog, look at my posts from the last year. I covered the end of Stranger Things like there was no tomorrow because it is my absolute favorite show. My favorite actor from Stranger Things is also Sadie Sink, so when I heard she was going to be in Brand New Day, I was over the moon. Her character and her performance are both very compelling and serve as a nice foil to Peter Parker. You can see that they are on parallel journeys, and that just highlights Peter's character and his struggles even more.

The action and practicality of Brand New Day is also one of the highlights of the movie. The Spider-Man versus Hulk sequence is one of the best MCU fight scenes since Endgame, mainly because it feels like a classic Spider-Man fight. There's so much dynamic web-slinging and New York City visuals that just really emphasize how much we are getting back to the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man that we know and love. People have compared the action in this film to that of the PlayStation games, and I think that's very accurate. Peter does so much fun stuff as Spider-Man here, and it just feels refreshing. I also think the practical suit adds so much to the character. Instead of being a high-tech Tony Stark-CGI invention, this is a real suit that Tom Holland is actually wearing. It looks uncomfortable and imperfect at times. You can see his ears and his eyes through the mask. But that adds the perfect authenticity that I want to see in a classic Spider-Man story.

And, finally, I think this movie hits a lot of the emotions that you would want from it. Peter Parker is miserable here. People have compared his struggles here to Tobey's in Spider-Man 2, and I think that, while they aren't the exact same, that's a fair comparison. You feel the consequences and sacrifices Peter has to make to be Spider-Man. The way that Ned and MJ are handled here are incredible. They do not resolve the No Way Home spell immediately. It lets you sit in the misery and loneliness of Peter's life as the classic Spider-Man, and I think that makes for a profoundly emotional experience. There are a few scenes with MJ and Ned that really tug at the heartstrings. The final moment of the film especially will just send chills shooting up everyone's spine. This is what I want from a classic Spider-Man story.

The Sour

While I think Brand New Day has a lot going for it as a return to form for classic Spider-Man, I think it also stumbles a tiny bit in the transition to that.

One of the things that I found to be most frustrating in this movie is how Peter isn't really driving the forward momentum of the plot. He's investigating this mystery regarding this unidentifiable threat, but the threat itself is the one driving the conflict, not Spider-Man. He's just sort of caught in the crossfire between the real conflict, and that makes it a little tough for the connection between the main plot and Peter's internal struggles.

I think part of what makes that connection even rockier is how overstuffed this movie is. It's not overstuffed in the way that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 or Spider-Man 3 are. This is still a coherent, very good movie that doesn't collapse under its own weight, but it loses the ability to flesh some things out because of how much it is trying to tackle. Peter's own internal struggle and the main conflict are really disconnected. His relationship with Ned and MJ and the mutation of his DNA feel entirely separate from the threat that he is facing. I wish they would've found a way to tie his actual character more into the conflict rather than have him just be the guy caught between this two-sided affair.

I am also a bit disappointed in the way the villains are presented. I don't want to say that much without spoiling anything, but Scorpion is really the only classic Spider-Man villain that appears in this film (for more than a brief cameo) and even he doesn't really do anything. There is no classic Spider-Man rogue, and Brand New Day is the first film to really have that. Spider-Man has, alongside Batman, the greatest rogues' gallery in the history of comic books. Every Spider-Man movie is an opportunity to give us a new classic Spider-Man villain, but Brand New Day doesn't really have that. It's more interested in exploring the character side of things, which is great, but it loses out on having a truly compelling Spider-Man villain, and that left something to be desired.

I also think this movie struggles with it's pace a lot. The first twenty or so minutes are this ridiculously fast, action-heavy thrill ride where we see Peter being Spider-Man all across New York...and then it slows to a major halt as soon as Ned and MJ are re-introduced into the story. Because the main conflict and Peter's journey are somewhat disconnected, it feels like it has to choose one to focus on until the third act, and constantly switching between them just hurts the movie's pace a lot.

And, finally, I think this movie feels the tiniest bit incomplete. The main story and conflict are resolved by the end. There's no major cliffhanger or tease for the future of Spider-Man (the after-credits give us a tiny bit, but not really anything major), but I think Peter's emotional journey and arc still feels a bit open-ended. I'm putting this in the negatives for now, because it feels unresolved, but maybe that will be remedied in the future. Because his character arc is, as I've said, not fully integrated into the main conflict, the actual plot gets resolved but Peter's journey still feels like it's going. And that also left a little bit to be desired.

Final Thoughts and Score

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is an exciting return to form for classic Spidey. Peter's emotional journey and the main conflict are both really good...but if they had been more tied together, this may have reached great. As it stands, it's still a solid Spidey adventure.

I am going Savory here. Age range is 11+.

SWEET N' SOUR SCALE

Sweet (Great) Savory (Good)

Sour (Bad)

Moldy (Terrible)

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day"

Fun Factor: 8.5/10

Acting: 8/10

Story: 7.5/10

Characters: 8.5/10

Quality: 8/10

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton

Rated PG-13 for superhero violence and action, language, disturbing themes and images, thematic elements

Released on July 31, 2026

2 hours and 25 minutes

Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man

Zendaya as Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson

Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / Punisher

Sadie Sink as Jean Grey

Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds

Tramell Tillman as Bill Metzger

Liza Colón-Zayas as Jean DeWolff

Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova / Black Widow

Marisa Tomei as May Parker

Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk

Michael Mando as Mac Gargan / Scorpion

Olivia Booth-Ford as Sara Grey