Brand New Day Rumor Teases a Heartbreaking Reunion

Marvel Studios and Sony are making good on their promise of Spider-Man: Brand New Day not shying away from the ending of 2021’s No Way Home, which saw everyone forgetting Peter Parker exists. Unfortunately, this means that fans will see Peter in some heartbreaking situations in the upcoming sequel, at least according to some new rumors.

Trusted scooper Daniel Richtman has shared that Brand New Day was recently “filming a scene with Peter meeting MJ and Ned.” The details of this scene aren’t entirely surprising, given that Zendaya and Jacob Batalon have been reported to be reprising their respective roles from the previous Spider-Man trilogy as Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson and Ned Leeds for months now. However, as their characters’ memories of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker were erased at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it raises the question of why Peter would be interacting with them.

Unless Brand New Day is set to undo the ending of No Way Home and give MJ and Ned their memories of Peter back, this reunion between them will be heartbreaking for the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom, as the pair will have no clue why Peter is trying to befriend them. Adding more heartbreak to this possible reunion is the fact that scooper John Rocha recently stated that “MJ has a new boyfriend” in Brand New Day, which reportedly “causes Peter to snap a bit and makes the movie a little more darker and grounded.” After three movies of Holland’s Peter having a strong support system (and unlimited funds thanks to Tony Stark), it looks like Brand New Day is set to give fans the most comics-accurate version of Spider-Man in the MCU yet.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Is Bringing in New Villains

Spider-Man holding a building together
Image via Disney

After going up against five villains from the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield eras of Spider-Man movies in No Way Home, Marvel Studios and Sony are set to introduce several villains who have never been seen in live-action before on the big screen. Marvin Jones III has been cast as albino crime boss Lonnie Lincoln/Tombstone, while Michael Mando is returning as Mac Gargan, who is expected to appear as his supervillain alter ego Scorpion in the sequel. Severance star Tramell Tillman has also joined the movie in a role that is believed to be antagonistic.

Spider-Man will also reportedly come to blows with both Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk and Jon Bernthal’s Punisher, with Brand New Day marking the first time the three MCU fan favorites will share the screen. Production on the fourth MCU-set Spider-Man movie has been underway since the start of August, with Shang-Chi helmer Destin Daniel Cretton in the director’s chair. While plot details remain under wraps, Brand New Day is expected to pick up after the events of the Punisher’s untitled Special Presentation, while also setting the stage for Spider-Man’s role in Avengers: Doomsday.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is scheduled to hit theaters on July 31, 2026, as part of Phase 6 of the MCU.