First reviews say Spider-Man: Brand New Day kicks off the MCU’s next era

Let’s be honest, there’s hardly been a Marvel fan out there who’s not wondered when Spider-Man might finally get his due as a fully-fledged adult in the MCU. Well, your wait might be over — the early screenings for Spider-Man: Brand New Day have kicked up plenty of buzz, and by the sound of it, this is not the same old Peter Parker we left sobbing under a pile of rubble. The film lands in cinemas this Friday and, if you believe the first crop of reactions, we're starting a whole new chapter for both Spider-Man and the larger MCU.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens in cinemas this Friday, swinging straight into the MCU’s next phase.

A Proper Grown-Up Parker

This time around, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker isn’t propped up by mates or high school hijinks — in fact, he’s in a world where pretty much everyone’s forgotten he even exists. Yes, after all the multi-versal drama of his last outing, Parker’s now totally on his own, tackling both a new villain and some fairly bleak isolation. It’s a far cry from the days of school dances and Avengers field trips. Critics are already calling this a turning point for Spider-Man, with a more "mature Parker" and a storyline that actually deals with what it means to be fundamentally alone.

Online, the hype machine is in full swing. Reviews have been turning up all over X, with a lot of love for director Destin Daniel Cretton and the pivot towards a more focused and grown-up Spidey. They’re calling it Holland’s "best outing yet," and — fair dos — if you were hoping for a Spider-Man film that drops the training wheels, apparently this is the one.

Inside the Title and What’s Next

The new film’s called Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and cast and crew are keen to say it does exactly what it says on the tin. Jacob Batalon (who returns as Ned) told Entertainment Weekly the rationale is simple: "It is a Brand New Day after all." Meanwhile, Holland himself described it as "the beginning of a new…thing." Not exactly bleeding-edge insight, but it gets the job done. Producer Amy Pascal put it in slightly more poetic terms, suggesting the core of the movie is about wanting to be anyone but yourself, only to eventually accept — and maybe even celebrate — what makes you different. She was clear, though:

Pascal told Entertainment Weekly: "We definitely don’t see [Spider-Man: Brand New Day] as a closing… It’s a beginning."

So if you thought this might wrap up Holland’s incarnation, think again — the party’s only just starting. As for what’s next, the MCU hurtles on: the next biggie is Avengers: Doomsday, out 18 December 2026. There’s been no confirmation yet if Spidey’s swinging by for that one, but with multiple universes colliding, don’t bet against it. Then there’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse landing June 18, 2027, which no doubt folds in some of these new threads.

MCU overlord Kevin Feige has been dropping hints about Miles Morales finally making the jump to live action. He’s on record as saying you can't really talk about Spidey’s future without mentioning Miles — though for now, he says he’s just "enjoying Beyond the Spider-Verse and Amy’s next movie." Makes you wonder how long it’ll be before we get a Holland-and-Miles tag team on the big screen, doesn’t it?