Film REVIEW: Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) - ★★★★
Tom Holland promises a painful “rebirth” for the webslinger in Spider-Man: Brand New Day – and every self-respecting Spider-Fan will insist on a cinema viewing. From plot, cast, trailer and age rating to the Spider-Man Brand New Day release date, here’s the ultimate guide.
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Writer: Chris McKenna, Eric Sommers
based on Spider-Man by Stan Lee
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Tramell Tillman, Marisa Tomei, Mark Ruffalo.
Genre: Adventure, Action, Sci-Fi
Themes: Superhero, Marvel, Shared Universe
A forgotten Peter Parker lives alone as a full-time Spider-Man until mounting pressure triggers a dangerous change and a powerful new enemy emerges.
It is the 38th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the fourth film in the MCU Spider-Man film series following Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
MIX UP REVIEWS:
Myles (Age 15) - ★★★1/2
"I thought this was a movie with excellent cinematography- shot beautifully and spectacularly, really going back to its roots, feeling like a comic book brought to life. It has awesome acting, as always, especially from Tom Holland. Zendaya is also great, playing practically a different character here than in the other films, and I mean that in the best way possible. Spider-Man and Punisher’s dynamic was golden. I loved their quippy banter and their scenes together were fantastic. However, I feel like watching the trailers for this movie really hindered the experience, as they gave away far too much.
I also feel like something was missing from the movie, evoking a sense of incompletion. I expected there to be a big twist or turn in the end that I wasn’t expecting but they were actually very predictable. Overall,I would give this film 7 stars out of 10. This was still an entertaining, fun film with a great message about the importance of not being alone and isolating yourself, awesome emotion, a miraculous crew, but with just a few too many problems, not reaching the level that I personally was hyped for."
Have you seen it?
Spider-Man MCU journey...
Spider-Man: Brand New Day buzz - Why is everybody talking about the new Spider-Man movie?
Right now, our Spider-Sense is going nuts. When Tom Holland’s webslinger swung off into the sunset at the end of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home – thereby completing the ‘Home’ trilogy – we feared the golden age of angsty teenage arachnids was over.
And, sure, since Spider-Man 4 became a thing, we’ve followed every last scrap of news, rumour and out-there fan theory. But it’s only now – with the web-breaking release of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer – that we dare to say it out loud.
Spidey’s back, baby, with the Spider-Man: Brand New Day release date confirmed for 29 July. And if you even think of watching this one anywhere but the cinema, our boy will gunk your smartphone right out of your hand.
Is this a Spider-Man MCU movie?
Yep. We’ll never not be slightly confused by the Sony Spider-Man Universe that runs in parallel, starring characters from Spidey’s wider comic storylines. But Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the official second entry in the MCU Phase 6, featuring the reassuring presence of Marvel Studios stalwarts like director Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Just Mercy) and producer Kevin Feige (er, pretty much everything).
Spider-Man: Brand New Day plot - What happens in the new Spider-Man movie?
Don’t be ridiculous. The only way we’re getting concrete Spider-Man: Brand New Day plot details at this point is if Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers) goes on the chat-show circuit. But we do have a loose premise: having wiped himself from the world’s memory thanks to Dr Strange’s spell, an anonymous Peter Parker has returned to fighting street-level crime in New York.
But the pressure of all that vigilantism is taking its toll, sparking a ‘physical evolution’ in our hero. Let’s just say, this isn’t your dad’s Spider-Man (although he’ll love it too). “It really feels like we aren't making the fourth movie,” Holland told Complex Pop. “We're making the first movie in the chapter. This is a rebirth. This is something completely new.”
Theories? Some fans reckon Spider-Man 2026 will follow the arc of 2007’s comic-book series One More Day (which would be pretty wild, seeing as Spidey struck a deal with Mephisto to resurrect his Aunt May). Others believe the changes we see in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer – including Parker’s organic web-shooters and definitely-not-healthy black eyeballs – evoke 1971’s Six Arms Saga storyline.
Cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day - Who stars in the new Spider-Man film?
Tom Holland once said his career must have gone terribly wrong if he’s still playing Spider-Man in his thirties. Well, technically, the eternally youthful British actor wrapped on Spider-Man: Brand New Day aged 29, so he gets a free pass (and still owns this franchise).
“It's a movie about when young people really find their identity and become adults,” said Holland. “Having been through that as a person, it really gave me a great insight into how to bring Peter Parker to life with this new chapter that he's embarking on.”
Parker’s buddies are back too, including Zendaya’(Dune)s love interest MJ and former ‘guy in the chair’ Ned (Jacob Batalon). Another familiar face is Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner. You’ll notice we didn’t say ‘Hulk’: that’s because the scientist is wearing a device to suppress his inner green giant (this was possibly in his employment contract to teach quantum mechanics at Empire State University). Banner drops a key line in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer: “If your DNA is mutating, that would be enormously dangerous…”
Spider-Man: Brand New Day villain - Who plays the villain in Spider-Man 4?
Spidey’s growing pains are bad enough. Now throw in the saga’s meanest lineup. Vigilante Frank Castle/Punisher (Jon Bernthal - Le Mans 66, Daredevil) clearly thinks he’s fighting the good fight, but he’s taking out the city’s crims with waaaay too much enthusiasm. “He's in the R-rated kind of universe and we've picked him up and plonked him into our world,” says Holland. “It started as two people that really kind of hate each other, and then as we started improvising, it became this big brother/little brother rivalry.”
Michael Mando’s Scorpion is a more black-and-white baddie (the clue is in the mechanised stinger), while backup comes from Boomerang, Tarantula and the Hand ninja clan.
But how about Sadie Sink (The Glass Castle) in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? The word is that the Stranger Things star could play wraithy wasp-queen Shathra. Others believe we’ve already seen her as the X-Men’s loose cannon Jean Grey (check out the creepy hooded figure at 1:57 in the trailer). Could she be the “danger that we can’t control, that we can’t even see…?”
Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer - What footage can we watch right now from the new Spider-Man film?
It dropped out of nowhere on 18 March – and wound up as the most-viewed trailer of all-time, with 718.6 million views in 24 hours (beating Deadpool & Wolverine). Since then, Marvel scholars have kept unpicking the riddles of the Spider-Man Brand New Day footage. What’s happening to Peter? Who is Tramell Tillman’(Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning)'s character (credited only as Bill)? And who’s that creep (played by Eman Esfandi - King Richard, Asoka) with his arm around MJ?
Spider-Man: Brand New Day age rating - Who can watch the new Spider-Man movie?
It’s lucky that Spidey webs Punisher’s gob before he can drop the F-bomb in the Spider-Man 2026 trailer. That sticky censorship means Spider-Man: Brand New Day gets away with a ‘12A’ age rating, and your whole family can swing by.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is out now – and with our eye-popping visuals and immersive sound, the cinema makes all other Spidey viewing formats look incy-wincy. So don’t miss the big-screen rebirth of the MCU’s MVP. “Of course, it’s still the Spider-Man that everybody loves,” says director Destin Daniel Cretton, “but this is a new chapter…”
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