Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, featuring a screenplay by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. It stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo, Jacob Batalon, Florence Pugh, Liza Colon-Zayas, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, Marisa Tomei, Olivia Booth-Ford, Marvin Jones III, Naomi Watts, and Keith David. Following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Holland) continues his quest to protect New York City while dealing with the trauma of losing his best friends after asking Dr. Strange to wipe him from their memories. When a villain (Sink) capable of mind control threatens a new peacekeeper organization, the Department of Damage Control, Spider-Man sets out to stop the threat. When this enemy threatens to harm his former friends, Spider-Man realizes he’s outmatched, leading him to seek advice from former ally Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk (Ruffalo), current collaborator Black Widow (Pugh), and newly-made frenemy Frank Castle/The Punisher (Bernthal). As he continues his mission, Spider-Man realizes that the situation may not be as simple as it seems.

As the titular superhero, Tom Holland gives his strongest performance to date. He nails the character’s iconic playfulness and deep personal pain, but does so with his mask on for the majority of the film. Tom is asked to act exclusively with his body more than in any other Spider-Man film, but there isn’t a single moment where his ability to communicate/expess feels hindered/unclear. Even little shifts/cracks in his voice are spot-on, helping further clarify his emotional state, even though he doesn’t really need it. In my mind, no one can top Toby Maguire as the character simply because he’s who I had when I was a kid, but Holland’s starting to make me doubt myself.

The character’s dynamics with MCU favorites such as The Punisher (Bernthal) and Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Ruffalo) are particular highlights. They both have natural, meaningful roles in the story, proving that their prominent presence in the film’s marketing wasn’t just a misleading ploy. A PG-13 version of The Punisher is mostly palatable, but the tricks they use to hide his darker edges are somewhat obvious, occasionally making me roll my eyes. For example, I would’ve bet my bank account before seeing the film that Spider-Man would at some point cover The Punisher’s mouth with a web just before he drops an F-bomb, and that exact moment is in the film. All in all, however, his inclusion is mostly a big win. 

Sadie Sink’s not-so-secret “villain” role as the iconic X-Man, Jean Grey, works mostly because the character bucks the trend of typical Marvel antagonists. Sink is a fantastic young actress who nails Jean’s third-act emotional beats, but unfortunately the character isn’t very interesting for three-fourths of the runtime. That said, her manipulation of Peter’s relationship with MJ and Ned is effective, simply because it’s easy to care about that dynamic. Some of the directions taken with this subplot are surprising but satisfying, proving these characters still have a lot of juice left in the tank. 

Overall, this is another quality entry in Tom Holland’s MCU Spider-Man saga. It’s as good, if not better, than the three previous entries, but isn’t particularly groundbreaking. It’s one of the better recent Marvel films, but in a certain sense, it is exactly what you’d expect. There are few surprises when all is said and done. If you love this character, rejoice. If you were hoping for something truly new, this isn’t it, but I don’t know why you thought that would even be a possibility. B