The Hidden Review has just seen Spider‑Man: Brand New Day, the latest installment in the Spider‑Man franchise starring Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon,Tramell Tillman, Zabryna Guevara,Michael Mando, Marisa Tomei, Florence Pugh, Mark Ruffalo, Liza Colón-Zayas, Olivia Booth-Ford, Marvin Jones III. Produced by Sony Pictures, Marvel Studios, and Columbia Pictures with Amy Pascal and Kevin Feige at the helm.
We pick up exactly where No Way Home left us: a fractured multiverse, a gallery of villains pulled from different realities, devastating loss, and, crucially, Doctor Strange played by Benedict Cumberbatch and all three cinematic Spider‑Men – Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland – sharing the screen. In order to repair the timeline and shield the world from further threats, everyone had to forget who Spider‑Man was. That spell didn’t just erase the hero; it erased Peter Parker himself.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers and Justin Kuritzkes, Brand New Days embraces this reset to reshape Peter Parker from the ground up. The film understands that the character must evolve, and it leans into that necessity rather than simply repeating the formula that made previous entries successful.
A lonelier Spider‑Man and the rise of Scorpion
In this new chapter, Peter is truly alone, scraping by at college while trying to survive yet another wave of villains tearing through New York. The standout new arrival is Scorpion, played with surprising nuance by Michael Mando. His performance gives the character an intriguing physical presence and a distinctive look, making Scorpion feel less like a disposable antagonist and more like a real, grounded threat within the MCU.
Casting
The casting choices extend far beyond the core trio. One of the most tantalizing additions is Sadie Sink, the beloved star of Netflix’s Stranger Things, who finally makes her entry into the MCU. By playing the role of Jean Grey, it’s safe to say her character adds a striking emotional texture to the film. Sink proves once again that she can completely disappear into a part that is worlds away from the one audiences have watched her inhabit for nearly a decade.
The film also weaves in Jon Bernthal as the Punisher and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, placing them alongside Holland’s Spider‑Man in ways that feel narratively motivated rather than gratuitous. Seeing an Avenger stumbling through an apparently ordinary day and an antihero like the Punisher navigating moral gray areas alongside Peter adds a grounded, street‑level weight to the story.
Their presence reframes Peter’s journey: The Punisher, living in the heart of darkness yet acting as an unlikely teammate, forces Peter to confront what his true superpower should be—not just agility or strength, but moral clarity in a world built on compromise.
Florence Pugh’s new Black Widow also joins the investigation, helping Spider‑Man piece together the pattern behind a series of escalating threats in New York. Her scenes with Holland are sharp, tense, and layered, underscoring how far Peter has come from the wide‑eyed teenager we met in Homecoming.
Screenplay: “Show, don’t tell” and a more mature coming‑of‑age
Structurally, Spider‑Man: Brand New Days is built around a clean three‑act spine. The film feels fresher, more human and undeniably more mature than previous entries. Now that Peter is at university, life hits harder: deadlines, isolation, bills and the weight of anonymity all sit alongside the demands of being a superhero.
Crucially, the script adheres to the classic filmmaking principle “Show, Don’t Tell”. Emotional beats are earned through behaviour, framing and contrast rather than over‑explained in dialogue. We see Peter’s loneliness in empty dorm rooms and late‑night patrols; we see his growth in the way he chooses when not to fight.
DirectiNG
Destin Daniel Cretton, fresh from Shang‑Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, delivers another confident genre film that balances big‑scale action with a deeply human core. The set‑pieces are kinetic yet readable, with stunt work that feels precise rather than over‑edited, and the choreography leans into Spider‑Man’s physical storytelling – flips, slings and improvised manoeuvres that communicate character as much as power.
Visually, the film is impressive. The photography carves out a distinct tonal identity, pushing New York towards a more wintery, grounded aesthetic that fits the “wolf in winter” idea of a hero fighting through his harshest season. The director’s vision feels clear: he knows exactly when to let the camera breathe and when to lock into close‑ups that put us inside Peter’s head.
The CGI is handled with notable restraint. Rather than overwhelming the frame, the visual effects enhance key moments and give weight to the multiversal elements without sacrificing spatial coherence. In several sequences, the digital work arguably surpasses some earlier Spider‑Man entries, especially in how it integrates practical stunts and location photography.
Comic‑book influences
For fans of the source material, Brand New Days is a dense love letter to some of Spider‑Man’s most important storylines. The film draws explicitly and implicitly from:
- The Amazing Spider‑Man #100–102
- The Other: Evolve or Die (2005–2006)
- Spectacular Spider‑Man
- The X‑Men #1 (1963)
- X‑Men #22 (1966)
- X‑Men #136 (1980)
These references are not window dressing. They inform the moral dilemmas, the mutations of power and the sense that Peter’s evolution sits inside a larger, interconnected mythos that now includes X‑Men, the Fantastic Four and the broader multiverse.
Towards Avengers
Narratively, Spider‑Man: Brand New Days functions as an essential bridge towards the next era of the MCU. To fully grasp where these characters are heading, audiences will have to wait for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. However, with X‑Men, the Fantastic Four and a growing roster of street‑level heroes now on the board, the film offers enough clues to suggest the shape of things to come.
Spider‑Man: Brand New Days is in cinemas – and it is worth seeing on the largest screen possible.
Hidden Fire stars 9/10
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