Spider-Man is all ready to swing through the neighborhood again in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the latest installment in the webslinger’s adventures within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, starring Sadie Sink, is set to release in theaters on July 31, 2026.(AFP)
While the new movie is expected to introduce a host of familiar characters – like John Bernthal’s Punisher and Bruce Banner’s Hulk – along with previously unseen villains, one casting that has led to more questions than answers is the role of Sadie Sink.
The Stranger Things star is slated to appear in the latest Spider-Man movie, but her role is being kept under wraps. However, there are some prevalent theories, and Sadie has addressed some of them herself.
Will Sadie Sink play May “Mayday” Parker?
There was some buzz about Sadie Sink playing May ‘Mayday’ Parker – the daughter of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man and Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson. Notably, Tobey’s Spider-Man returned in No Way Home, as part of the multiverse storyline, and given MCU has broached the topic already, there’s a good chance they might build on it.
Jeff Sneider and John Rocha on their Hot Mic podcast discussed it as a distinct possibility, while Sneider mentioned hearing that Sink could play Gwen Stacy – or at least an alternate universe version of her – Peter Parker’s first love.
Could Sadie Sink play Carlie Cooper?
Though there is not much substance to this, one Reddit user claims there are rumors of Sadie playing a character called ‘Carly’. The user shared “the details of her character is a forensic scientist student that is connected to Peter during his college”, noting this is exactly like Carlie Cooper, who, in the comics, is friends with Peter Parker and Harry Osborn.
Will Sadie Sink play Jean Grey?
MCU acquired the X-Men back in 2019, and since then we haven’t seen the mutants, which became so beloved with Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine.
The X-Men reboot is expected only in 2028, but MCU could be working towards gradually introducing some of the characters, so as to have a base when the first film comes out. Given that X-Men has a gamut of important characters, from Storm to Professor X, and Jean Grey to Nightcrawler, it would seem like the smart move to ease into it.
Moreover, the similarities between Sadie Sink and Jean Grey are unmissable – namely the flaming red hair. Also, Sadie’s popularity in Stranger Things is likely to guarantee her somewhat of a meaty role in the MCU, and the X-Men team member could just be it!
When Deadline initially reported on Sink joining the project, the publication noted that the prevailing theory was that she’d play Jean Grey, but also stated that one shouldn’t count out that she might appear as another beloved redhead Spider-Man character.
Notably, Mayday Parker also has red hair, and the role would be a substantial one for Sink to take up, since she goes on to become Spider-Girl.
Jean Grey, meanwhile, has not had too many crossovers with Spider-Man even in the comics, but featured prominently the one time Spidey went to the X-Men mansion to try and get Professor X to cure his mutation.
When Sadie Sink was asked if she plays the telepathic mutant, she said “This is news to me,” and when pushed whether she spoke to anyone from Marvel about the character, said “No, I can’t…no. I have nothing to say about this.”
The actor further continued “The rumors are really cool, though. It’s an awesome rumor.”
However, Sink seemed to be more than aware of the kind of commitment playing such a character would take, and seemed to be on board with it, saying “Yeah, I know the character…it’s a great character. I think that’s super exciting”.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to release in theaters on July 31, 2026.