The more things change, the more they stay the same. Here we are again, for the final time this Winter, for a movie preview/review. Yes, the Moirai, or should that be Disney, have decreed that I commit more time to this amazing venture, which, to my humble credit, I have gracefully said, “Sure, bro.”
The FIFA World Cup seems a distant memory, along with the first half of the Nations Championship, though the Clacton by-election is this week, so hopefully God has a sense of humour, and Nigel Farage will lose to Count Binface. Dreams are free, mate, dreams are free. I’ll mention the winner next week, so stay glued to New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website.
With all of that cool stuff out of the way, we need to discuss Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This hasn’t happened for a long time on this amazing account, but the film has been out since 30th July, and I’m just releasing a preview. However, just to lay your fears to rest, I’ll be watching the film tomorrow at 8 pm, since I’ve secured my ticket for the screening. Old habits are hard to break.
Before I stumble into another awful attempt at alliteration and previewing a superhero movie, we need to discuss the elephant in the room, or should that be the $1 billion at the box office. I’m never going to do this again, as in wait so long to write a preview of a movie, when it’s already been released, generated $1 billion, as well as trying to avoid memes, reviews, and posts about the film.
Never again; it’s been too awkward and stressful. It also means some things that I would have asked in my preview questions have already been answered.
I have tried so hard to block out information about the film, but some information has bled through, though it’s to be expected. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been on people’s radar for a while. It’s no secret that the film is the 38th entry in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), with the 39th being Avengers: Doomsday, due in theatres in December 2026. I’ll be nearly on holiday for that one, so we’ll see how that pans out. This is a classic example of a first-world problem.
Anyway, Spider-Man: Brand New Day gives us the first appearance of Peter Parker since Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021. Of course, the MCU has kept chugging out cinematic content since then, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps; with The Marvels being the only MCU film I have not seen, and its proved difficult to rent. Another first-world problem in action.
The cast is Peter Parker / Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson (Zendaya), Jean Grey (Sadie Sink), Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), Frank Castle / Punisher (Jon Bernthal), Yelena Belova / Black Widow (Florence Pugh), and Bruce Banner / Hulk (Mark Ruffalo); though there are others, I need to move things along.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (who previously directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who both have co-written other MCU films like Spider-Man: Homecoming, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Its armed with a budget of an estimated US$225 million, roughly the same as The Avengers’ budget from 2012.
So, sit back and relax, while we continue our dive into Phase Six with Spider-Man: Brand New Day! Let’s do it!
Am I looking forward to watching Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
Yes, yes, of course, the answer is yes. As I said before, the last time we saw Peter was in Spider-Man: No Way Home, not counting 2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Now, I’ve mentioned this several times when writing these world-famous previews, but I don’t have Disney +, so I haven’t seen any of the MCU TV shows.
This means I don’t know what’s been happening with Moon Knight, Daredevil, Wonder Man, but more importantly, for the context of the movie, Hulk and the Punisher. I really have no idea what they have been doing, other than being green and shooting people.
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has become a vital cog in the MCU machine, mainly because we have watched Peter grow up, secure some victories, but also suffer defeats, and we’ve been there along the way. It’s almost like checking in on an old mate that you don’t get to see often.
The title, Brand New Day, obviously sets up, to me at least, a possible opening chapter in a new Spider-Man film trilogy, featuring the word, Day, similar to Home, in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, I have been known to be wrong. From time to time.
Comic book fans will recognise Brand New Day as the follow-up storyline to one of Marvel’s worst Spider-Man storylines, One More Day, though the Clone Saga and Sins Past could give One More Day a run for its money. I remember that as soon as I had read all of the issues in One More Day, I sold it as soon as I could, because I didn’t want it under the same roof as me. I hated it.
Brand New Day was a reset for the Spider-Man titles, with Peter being single and living his best life with new friends and enemies, after he made a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May from death, by giving up his marriage to Mary Jane, by allowing Mephisto to remove it from reality. I believe the thinking at the time was to align the Spider-Man from the comics to the Spider-Man from the films, namely, Sam Raimi’s trilogy, and to make him single and younger. Again, I hated it.
Having Mephisto remove people’s knowledge of Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage from reality was lifted from One More Day, and used in No Way Home, but instead of Mephisto, it was Doctor Strange removing people’s knowledge of Peter being Spider-Man. Comics and movies, what a deadly combination.
What is the movie about?
According to Marvel.com, the premise is this:
It’s a BRAND NEW DAY for Peter Parker. Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesn’t remember him—and the pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him—sparks a change in Peter he may not have the power to control. But that transformation might also be the only thing that can stop a shocking new threat to the city and those he loves—a powerful villain no one can even see.
What can we expect?
The running time is 145 minutes, which places it roughly around the same time as The Avengers, from way back in 2012. I saw that film three times at the cinema, what a geek. I’m not 100% sure how much time has passed since Spider-Man: No Way Home, especially because the MCU is a bit funky. Still, with research, it says that No Way Home was set in 2024, and Brand New Day is in 2028.
From the trailers, Peter is going through a transformation reminiscent of “The Other” storyline, which appeared in Spider-Man comics as a crossover between the titles. In it, Peter is pursued by a freaky, universe-hopping life-force vampire named Morlun, who defeats him, transforms, and is reborn. It will be interesting to see how much of “The Other” is used in the movie.
From the trailers, it appears that Peter will be able to create organic webbing, similar to Toby Maguire’s Spider-Man (Earth-96283) and Spider-Man Noir (Earth-90214/90214B). This is a great reminder that I still need to watch Spider-Noir, because it looks awesome.
I think one of the biggest things to remember before you see the film is the fact that Doctor Strange removed the planet’s knowledge of Peter Parker being Spider-Man, but also that Peter Parker even exists at all, which includes from Mary Jane/MJ and Ned.
I can only imagine that a large chunk of the film will handle Peter trying to reestablish his relationships with them. Will this film lay the seeds of Ned’s ultimate evolution, turning him into the Hobgoblin, thus continuing the trend of Peter’s BFF becoming a supervillain and trying to kill him?
As a side note, it would be extremely difficult for Peter to live, considering there would be no record of him even existing; he’s a ghost. He would have to go and get official documents stating who he was, as well as proof that he’s a US citizen; otherwise, he would be deported. Also, try to imagine the levels of madness it would take if you knew lots of information about different people and the world, but nobody, and I mean nobody, knew anything about you.
The trailers also give the impression that Peter and Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, have some sort of working relationship, since, as Spider-Man, Peter calls him “Frank” in a plea for help. However, it’s unclear whether Peter has revealed his identity to Frank. I could be wrong about what I’ve seen, but it seems like Frank and Peter are acting like brothers, as in supporting each other, as well as bickering and arguing. Watching them debate the morality of killing criminals would be interesting. It also suggests that Dr Bruce Banner has not remembered who Peter is, so their relationship would be awkward as well.
With the known villains, Marvel has been very loose with these details, considering the amount of public knowledge of the characters, because of the trailers and toys, like the plague of Ooshies that have infected the world. These include Scorpion (last seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming), Tombstone, Boomerang, and Tarantula, along with The Hand.
The Hand provides me with a great transition point, since, to the best of my understanding, they have featured in the MCU TV shows. Similar to the Disney + Star Wars shows, there is so much I have missed with the MCU shows that sometimes I feel that there’s no point getting Disney + because of the massive back catalogue. Like I said, sometimes.
Before the movie was released, there was speculation as to Sadie Sink’s role, so when the trailer was released, people started to guess the identity of the entity that was somehow taking over people or possessing them. The internet is a fertile place for growing conspiracy theories, and for once, the conspiracy theorists were correct that the mystery villain was, in fact, Jean Grey. It’s a weird feeling knowing a key piece of hidden information about a movie, before you watch it, considering you have a ticket in your hand.
Since Jean Grey is involved, my questions about the X-Men, or at least mutants, will be discussed. Hopefully, we will see some fantastic fight scenes, along with powerful emotional scenes, with Peter trying to reconnect with people. Who knows?
Do I have concerns?
One day, I’ll answer this question by saying I have no concerns, but it’s not today. That being the case, here are my concerns about a film that has earned US$1.6 billion at the box office:
- Is having four different villains, Scorpion, Tombstone, Boomerang, and Tarantula, too many? Will they be working together?
- How will Black Widow be introduced in the movie?
- Will it be revealed how Peter has built a life out of thin air, considering Peter Parker does not exist?
- Will Ned start to turn against Peter or Spider-Man?
- Does Matt Murdock/Daredevil or Kingpin make an appearance?
- Will Jean Grey be classified as a mutant?
- Will there be any form of early mutant legalisation?
- Will the transformations Peter goes through be permanent?
- Does Peter know Boomerang, outside of his mask?
- What is the Hand doing in the film?
- Can we expect any other cameos, whether Avengers or X-Men?
- Will Bruce Banner be able to help Peter?
- Is Morlun involved in the movie?
- Will Peter try to break up Mary Jane’s relationship with her boyfriend?
- Will there be a Doctor Doom reference?
As always, there’s probably going to be some questions to ask after the film. Are you planning on watching Spider-Man: Brand New Day, or have you already seen it? As always, please let me know.
I’m sorry if this preview is a tad shorter than usual, but I just want to watch the film while eating and drinking vastly over-priced items. And that’s another blog for another week.
Last Thursday, it was -5 °C at 6 am, which is just madness to me, because I’ve been going to bed wearing a hoodie and a beanie. I want to wear my dressing gown and slippers to work to be warm, but I’m sure it would be frowned upon.
Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, and if you can vote in the Clacton by-election on 13th August, remember that it’s bin day. Bin for the Win!! Please make Nigel Farage unemployed.
Take care, and I’ll see you next week for the Spider-Man: Brand New Day Review!
SOME GEEK TOLD ME 