Spiderman: Brand New Day is currently the MCU’s latest film and the 4th installment in the Spiderman series, starring Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal, Jacob Batalon, Florence Pugh, surprise guest Mark Ruffalo, and of course, Tom Holland and Zendaya. Released in theaters on July 31st of this year in the U.S., Brand New Day has officially blown past $2.5 billion at the box office worldwide, and has become the third-highest grossing film worldwide, behind Avengers: Endgame and Avatar. And, with a re-release planned featuring extended action scenes, that number could climb even higher.
Brand New Day focuses on Peter Parker as he grapples with the devastating effects of Dr. Strange’s indiscriminate memory-loss spell at the conclusion of Spiderman: No Way Home. Peter has no family or friends to turn to, and has made being Spiderman his entire life, which is beginning to take a toll on his health.
My main concern after hearing about Brand New Day was that Marvel would stretch themselves too thin with a 4th hero saga movie and end up with something ridiculous (looking at you, Love and Thunder). However, instead of relying on crude jokes, Marvel took a completely different approach with this Spiderman movie’s tone, and went mature and serious, with Peter now in his 20s instead of high school. Despite this film focusing on a smaller conflict than, say, half of the universal population being wiped out of existence, it still felt intense and important, with broad themes of grief, coming-of-age, mental health, and loneliness, among others.
That’s not to say Brand New Day is flawless. Let’s just say we saw the introduction of a character who’s a bit morally grey.
An anonymous MCU fan viewed the film as follows: “Spiderman: Brand New Day was a lovely film with a great life lesson. Was it the best Marvel movie out there? No. But it was very creative and well-thought, especially since Marvel has been making crappy films lately.”
Overall, Brand New Day was a much more grounded film than previous MCU installments, which I found refreshing. The plot was engaging, and the future of the Marvel movies seems planned and promising, especially considering the short post-credit scene that teases more than it answers. Brand New Day is certainly not a filler movie, and is instead setting the stage for the next saga, which, if of the same quality as Brand New Day, will be worth watching.