Sometimes Spider-Man has to do the hard thing, even if it breaks Peter Parker’s heart
Story by Gavin Bartolome and Ellie Song
Sports Editor and Staff Writer
Illustration by Shyla Drake
Staff Illustrator
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, reached $2 billion in ticket sales 18 days after its release, becoming the second fastest movie to do so, just under Avengers: Endgame. The cast was filled to the brim with a talented cast including Tom Holland as Spider-Man, Jon Bernthal returning as the Punisher, Zendaya as Michelle Jones-Watson (MJ), and even Sadie Sink, who plays a mysterious character kept hidden throughout the premiere. Spider-Man is a phenomenal character, and Brand New Day proves it.
It has been four years for Peter Parker, who is now 22 years old, since the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Now grown up, the movie feels much more mature, contrasting Holland’s previous three installments of the Spider-Man franchise which read as more of a copy-and-paste from other Marvel movies. Due to Cretton’s influence in directing, Brand New Day often leaned towards more grounded storytelling that focuses on character development and common human struggles like isolation, friendship, and self-doubt. Through the somber music score and dramatic shots, Cretton clearly sets the film’s message: maturity should not summate to lonely independence.
“This is the first time we see Peter trying to live his life outside of his community of friends and family, and his isolation has some unexpected consequences that will complicate everything in his life,” Cretton said in an interview with ScreenRant.
Where previous movies would place Spider-Man in the middle of the day with help from his friends, Brand New Day’s Spider-Man faces numerous villains alone and often during the night or in dark, gloomy settings. This portrays the darker side of being New York’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and the risks Parker must take to keep his loved ones safe.
“We are exploring a time in Peter Parker’s life that I find incredibly relatable, where he is learning to step into kind of a new phase in life,” Cretton said in an interview with IGN.
Brand New Day had many new cast members, such as Sadie Sink. Sink intrigued the public’s attention and rumors spread almost immediately based on who fans believed and hoped she would be portraying. Soon the comments on social media pages went ballistic, eager to hear how Sink would be introduced to the Marvel world. Once the movie was released to the United States on July 31, 2026, the rumors had finally ended, and the wait was over. Sadie Sink plays antagonist Jean Grey, who is one of the main characters in Marvel’s X-Men universe.
Towards the end of the movie, Jean Grey challenges Peter Parker mentally by sending all forces his way when Parker was at his lowest points. Later in the movie, when Peter finally understands what Grey was trying to achieve, he must make an important decision.
Not only does Parker struggle socially, but Spider-Man struggles with newfound powers that make him stronger but also more aggressive, driven by prolonged isolation. He is challenged to discover whether becoming a superhero really means handling everything by himself and whether he can keep up the act without crumbling.
Notably, Cretton chooses to reward Parker with only a few happy moments in the movie, and even more so, they are all with MJ and Ned. In the end, Peter faces many challenges that force him to confront his current approach to dealing with trauma. The movie reaches an uplifting conclusion, watching the sun rise again on a beautiful, brand-new day.