Alden Ehrenreich has had a pretty impressive career, and he's only 36. Between playing a young Han Solo to working with the likes of the Coen Brothers, Christopher Nolan, Woody Allen and Francis Ford Coppola, a lot has gone right for him. However, I just found out he also went up for Spider-Man way back when. This week he recalled his audition story, and why he thinks he “blew” it. All I have to say is: oof!

So often we hear about the success stories of Hollywood, so honestly this is sort of a refreshing story to hear. As Ehrenreich remembers it:

That would have been around 2010, when Ehrenreich had just started his career in Hollywood. From what we’ve heard from the auditions for The Amazing Spider-Man in the past, it featured some stiff competition. Josh Hutcherson was in the mix, along with Logan Lerman reportedly being on the shortlist. Joe Jonas has also talked about auditioning for the movie, too. Ultimately, though, it was Garfield who landed his dream role.

When Ehrenreich shared the audition story with Josh Horowitz, he admitted he didn’t really want to play Peter Parker because of where he was at “internally” at the time. He also said that at the time he was auditioning for it, it seemed to be “the same story” as Tobey Maguire’s version to him. Here’s what he said about the audition itself:

When the Weapons actor reflects on the audition, he doesn’t sound regretful, though. He pointed out that getting really famous at the age of 22 “would have been a really bad idea.” He has much preferred having a “very gradual” rise to fame instead. As he added:

Instead, Ehrenreich went on to do movies like Beautiful Creatures, Blue Jasmine and Hail, Caesar! in his early twenties. 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story was the big moment when he became more recognizable, and he was 26 at the time. And he did actually join the MCU for Ironheart last year!

As of late, the actor has been on a winning streak of movies as well. He was in Best Picture winner Oppenheimer, arguably the best horror movie of last year, Weapons, and his new movie now in theaters, A Talent For Murder, has him working with Helen Mirren. Plus, as we look to the future, he’s going to be in Miami Vice ‘85 with Michael B. Jordan, Austin Butler, Danny Ramirez, John Leguizamo, Walton Goggins and Haley Lu Richardson.

While it may look like Alden Ehrenreich missed out by not being prepared for his Spider-Man audition on paper, it sounds like it all worked out as it should, and he’s perhaps even grateful he didn’t get it.

We’re still living in the high of all this Spider-Man content we’ve gotten this year, and I’m here for it. Though some fans are more dedicated than others about producing unique "artistic interpretations" of the newest movie. In fact, someone recreated Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s bathhouse scene in LEGO, and I can’t get enough.

If you’ve seen the latest installment, then you’re already aware that when Yelena shows up on screen then all bets (or shirts) are off. Natasha’s younger sister has certainly been a scene-stealer every time she has shown up, and apparently that translates to LEGO. The scene (almost) perfectly captures the scene in which Peter visits Yelena at her “office.” (Otherwise known as the scene where she calls his problems “small potatoes.”) The LEGO scene recreates this interaction right down to Yelena’s messy hairstyle, and all credit goes to Trevor Carlee who posted the video on his Instagram:

The newest Spider-Man, which totally killed at the box office btw, owes at least some of its charm to the humor. Whether it was Peter "borrowing" clothes or the spa scene, Brand New Day delivered. In large part thanks to Florence Pugh’s dynamic with Tom Holland, which was definitely a favorite part of the movie for many fans. Before you ask, Yelena will be back again. When we do see her again, I fully expect Yelena to be her normal snarky self in Doomsday, and her humor will definitely be needed given the ‘end of the world’ vibes.

Though this LEGO scene gave fans something to hold them over until then, and proves that the well-received Spider-Man follow-up continues to thrive. Not even web shooters could hold fans back from freaking out:

• "Put Lego Yelena in everything! 😍" - @katemarshwriting
• "The 10 Mysterios fan art joke is seriously underrated" - @jreske
• "I love Yelena so much, hilarious scene 😂" - @tsripun
• "I LOOOOVE the scene hhhhh love how you did the water 😌" - @marsuavrilwinter
• "Between the tiles floating so perfectly and how clear they are this is honestly the best part of this LEGO recreation" - @saishagirl

I second the request to have more Yelena. Anyone who agrees can raise their hand. However, there was a minor complaint with the LEGO scene that kept it from being 100% perfect. A few fans, such as @benknight.815, pointed out, “Anyone else waiting for peter’s feet to pop up?” Others subtly left GIFs or screenshots of the moment when Peter's feet stick up at the pool mid-conversation. While that little detail seems to be missing, I still think this is one of the best fan interpretations I’ve seen.

The Spidey scene certainly helps keep us from overthinking (or is it just me?) about the Doomsday trailers while we wait for the movie to finally hit the 2026 schedule on December 18. Plus, we have VisionQuest which can be watched with a Disney+ subscription.

Until Doomsday arrives, I think Carlee should recreate other scenes from the movie. Perhaps, Peter borrowing clothes. Now, I know I’m not the only one thinking it, but someone should definitely drop the creator the suggestion.

It’s pretty much common knowledge that Tom Holland has been doing a lot of his stunts for the Spider-Man franchise since he was 19 years old. But, when the actor can’t, I figured it was pretty easy for the production to sub in a stunt man or bring in a digital rendering of Spidey in high-swinging action. However, as CinemaBlend recently learned, it’s a lot more complicated than that.

When CB recently spoke to Spider-Man: Brand New Day Visual Effects Supervisor Chris Waegner at Sony Pictures Imageworks, I learned why it’s not so simple to film Spider-Man stunts. As the VFX professional shared during our interview:

Needless to say, pulling off such feats isn't easy. Waegner added:

For context, rotomation refers to an advanced 3D digital model of an actor. Much like an animator might have a 3D model of a character one can adjust in the movements they need for a film, the same is the case for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. As Waegner said, when they weren't using in-camera stunt work by the now-30-year-old Spidey actor or one of his stunt men, there was a ton of work being done to make it all look seamless.

My jaw dropped when the VFX expert told me this, because I never thought of everything down to the “muscle twitches.” Still, they certainly make all the difference, as they ensure that an audience feels like they're watching the wall-crawler come to life in every scene. Waegner also said:

For some reason, I thought it would actually be easier to use the digital suits in a movie like Brand New Day, but the VFX supervisor’s comments made me realize how much work it is to replicate reality. No wonder Holland and Zendaya were lifted 110 feet off the ground for one swinging sequence they performed together! Waegner said this as well:

I love learning this BTS information about Brand New Day because it really makes me appreciate both the practical and VFX components of crafting this Marvel Cinematic Universe installment. And, while a character like Iron Man might be easier to have a digital suit for, Waegner makes a great point about how advanced BND had to be on a technical level. This is because it’s more of a skin-tight suit where a lot more is happening as we see the superhero move.

All of that hard work paid off, as Brand New Day remains the most successful movie on the 2026 release schedule. The Destin Daniel Cretton-directed film had a record-breaking domestic opening weekend and six straight weekends at No. 1. It's an excellent film for a number of reasons, but it's particularly great due to the way it balances character and spectacle, with the latter having been very well done by Chris Waegner and co.

You can learn even more behind-the-scenes details on Spider-Man: Brand New Day by checking it out on VOD now, or pre-ordering the Blu-ray, which comes out on December 15. Believe me when I say the additional information will change the way you look at the film (in a good way)!

The superhero genre continues to be wildly popular, with a number of shared universes competing at the box office. Fans who have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order have seen three different Peter Parker actors play Spider-Man, and were thrilled when they united on the big screen in No Way Home (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription). Andrew Garfield was recently asked to rank the three actors (including himself), and his answer was so endearing.

Garfield is an Oscar-nominated actor who played Peter in the Amazing Spider-Man movies before reprising his role in No Way Home. He'll likely always remain synonymous with his superhero role, and during an interview from Capital's Instagram, he was asked to rank the three live-action Spider-Men. He started by praising the OG Tobey Maguire, saying:

Given how much he loved Maguire's Spider-Man trilogy growing up, I can only imagine how much he wanted to pinch himself while working with him on Brand New Day. The three Peters had excellent chemistry once that crossover began, helping to raise the stakes and make the final battle all the more satisfying.

Of course, Tom Holland is the current reigning Spider-Man, whose popularity was so strong that Brand New Day beat Avengers: Endgame at the box office. In the same interview, Garfield spoke about playing Peter, and what his successor brings to the table. In his words:

He's not wrong. Tom Holland has brought a youthful naivety to the role that immediately endeared him to the fandom. At the time of writing this story, the 30 year-old actor has starred in a whopping seven movies as Peter Parker. What's more, Brand New Day's credit scene seemed to hint a possible role in Avengers: Secret Wars.

When pressed to rank the three Spider-Man stars, Garfield showed how humble he was by declaring:

What a class act. Garfield kept it humble and ranked himself last, despite how much he enjoyed playing Peter Parker over the years. Luckily for fans of his two movies, the Social Network actor got to suit back up in Brand New Day. Unfortunately Garfield had to lie about returning for months prior to its release.

You can see the Tony-winning actor's comments about the ranking below:

Whether he's talking about the Spider-Man legacy or breaking the internet by wearing glasses, Andrew Garfield has an undeniable charm about him. So it shouldn't be surprising that he put himself in last place behind Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland.

Garfield has been keeping busy lately, with titles like The Magic Faraway Tree and The Uprising arriving on the 2026 movie release list. It's unclear if we'll ever see him as Spider-Man again, but I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.

Zendaya and Tom Holland are one of the most successful couples in Hollywood, and for a while it’s likely that Zendaya was the one worth the most money. She reportedly makes between $8 and $10 million per movie, though she also takes on a lot of passion projects like Challengers and this year's The Drama (one of four movies the actress is starring in on the 2026 movie schedule) that pay her somewhat less. However, Holland has reportedly taken home a huge windfall for Spider-Man: Brand New Day after the movie raked in more than $2.5 billion at the box office over the summer.

A Truly Massive Payday

The two biggest movies of the year so far, box office-wise, are Brand New Day and The Odyssey. Both movies star Zendaya and Holland. It’s quite a feat, but it looks like Holland will have bragging rights at home, as he is reportedly taking home a massive $100 million total payday because the movie crossed the $2 billion mark. According to The Wrap, Holland earned $20 million upfront for his role as the friendly neighborhood crimefighter, but his backend deal will earn him an additional $80 million in bonuses based on the performance of the movie.

The “backend” of movies is where stars like Holland can really crank up their salary. The way they work is by essentially setting bonuses if movies reach certain benchmarks. According to the insider at Sony, Holland’s contract included a provision to pay him the massive amount if that $2 billion was reached. Brand New Day cruised past that mark in just its third week, becoming the second fastest movie ever to hit the milestone, after another Holland movie, Avengers: Endgame, in 2019.

This marks a huge raise for Holland after he made a reported $10 million for Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021. I mean, it would mark a huge raise for almost anyone, even the most successful Hollywood stars. It’s also way more than Zendaya has reportedly ever made for one movie.

She has earned a ton in her career, enough to satisfy almost anyone, but it’s comparatively peanuts. It’s notoriously difficult to believe what the internet says about celebrity net worths, but Zendaya is supposedly worth in the neighborhood of $40 million. That was more than Holland was supposedly worth (which is also hard to pinpoint) before Spider-Man: Brand New Day. If all these numbers are accurate, it means Holland went way over Zendaya’s number for just this one movie.

Something tells me that the two, who got married earlier this year in a low-key private ceremony (followed by a second wedding), probably aren’t worried about who is worth the most between them. Even if they are, if this report is true, there isn’t much of an argument to be had. Although even if Holland’s bank account is bigger, Zendaya’s 2026 movies will combine for more at the box office, as her fourth movie of the year, Dune Part Three, is sure to crush it as well. Cheers to both of them for the year they are having. It’s pretty damn elite.

Remember when Sadie Sink was first spotted on the Spider-Man: Brand New Day set? We had no idea who she was playing, and the theories were all over the place. Now that the film has become the highest-grossing project on the 2026 movie schedule worldwide, it’s common knowledge that she’s our new Jean Grey. Now, it's been revealed that deciding how to show the mutant’s powers in this iteration came with a lot of trial and error.

We’ve seen Jean Grey in live-action two other times – as played by Famke Janssen in the original X-Men movies and Sophie Turner in Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix. In Brand New Day, the filmmakers were tasked with bringing audiences a whole new version of the character that we expect to see in many upcoming Marvel movies. When CinemaBlend spoke to Brand New Day's Visual Effects Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, Chris Waegner, he shared with us the process of bringing Jean’s powers to life. In his words:

If you’re not familiar with the filmmaking lingo, “previs” is the process of mapping out how shots in a movie are going to look before shooting even starts. So, prior to Sadie Sink stepping on set, the Brand New Day team had to think deeply about what Jean Grey’s powers were going to look like. And rather than relying on some sort of new visual effect, they decided to lean into Jean’s powers being shown mainly through choreography like this:

In a landscape where it feels like we’ve seen every VFX trick in the book, you've got to love Brand New Day’s approach to Jean Grey’s powers. Waegner suggested there were many different iterations of them during pre-production, but ultimately, leaning heavily on the choreography accomplished by over a hundred dancers won out. As he added:

Now, Brand New Day is absolutely filled with visual effects. For example, the movie was actually filmed in Scotland, so a lot of work was put into making Glasgow look like New York City. It’s pretty cool that, in the case of the movie’s complex villain, they went for a unique and unexpected approach. Seeing the choreography come together as Jean jumps from one host to the other is absolutely memorable, and such an impressive feat by the stunt team.

The latest Spider-Man movie is now available to rent and buy on digital platforms, and will come out on physical platforms on December 15. You can pre-order it on Amazon right now. I know I'll be rewatching it just to see Jean's powers come to life again!

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has webbed up a considerable amount of success since its release on the 2026 movie schedule this past July. The Destin Daniel Cretton-directed superhero flick has not only broken box office records but also earned acclaim from critics. What’s also notable about this particular flick is that lead actor Tom Holland contributed a significant amount of ideas compared to his previous Spidey flicks. Still, I wasn’t expecting him to cite The Lego Batman Movie when explaining one of his pitches.

Much of Brand New Day centers on Holland’s web-slinger being heralded by the people of New York due to his success in combating crime in the city. However, as Peter Parker, he lives a relatively isolated life following the ending of 2021’s No Way Home, in which the world forgets who he is. That ultimately causes Peter to become depressed, especially when he sees the full lives his former friends – MJ and Ned – are living. As Holland explained, this was something that was greatly informed by Lego Batman:

Chris McKay’s Lego Movie spinoff sees the Dark Knight earning serious praise from the citizens of Gotham City, who assume he’s living it up with celebrities in super models in his spare time. In reality, the Bat goes home to an empty cave and has a deep sense of loneliness that he initially tries to deny. While the film makes fun of Batman at times, it’s also quite sentimental. While I’ll admit that I wouldn’t have immediately pegged the funny flick as an inspiration for Brand New Day, it makes sense. Holland also said this about his pitch:

The Lego Batman Movie was very well reviewed and, quite frankly, it’s just a fun film. I love that it now has a small creative link to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man franchise. Also, kudos to Holland for finding varied sources of inspiration for his new movie. I’d say it all paid off, given the position responses to Brand New Day. Of course, there’s also now talk regarding what the future may hold. While a fifth film is far from confirmed at this point, Sony head honcho Tom Rothman suggests the future could be bright.

Now, a high bar has been set by Brand New Day, since it deftly balances the superhero thrills with the grounded character elements. And I love that we can thank Lego Batman for (inadvertently) contributing to that approach. McKay’s movie deserves its flowers, and this new revelation from Tom Holland serves as a small, but neat, addition to its legacy.

Check out Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is currently playing in theaters nationwide. Also, grab an HBO Max subscription and stream The Lego Batman Movie now.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is showing no signs of slowing down, to the joy of fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order. The latest release is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which broke records upon arriving in theaters. That movie featured plenty of familiar faces, including Jon Bernthal's Punisher, Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, and Florence Pugh's Yelena. It turns out that the latter actress was included thanks to Tom Holland himself. Let's break it all down.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day's trailer included Bruce Banner and The Punisher, but Yelena was more of a surprise. In a clip from The Tonight Show's Instagram, Pugh explained how her role in that blockbuster actually came about thanks to Holland. She started by offering:

Talk about a fun origin story. While Yelena has become a fan favorite character over the years, she was relatively unknown when debuting in Black Widow (which ish streaming with a Disney+ subscription). So when Tom Holland was asked about what heroes he'd like to see join his Spider-Man franchise, one might have assumed he'd name drop some of the big OG Avengers. Of course, that wasn't the case.

Later in the same interview, the Oscar-nominated actress spoke more about how Tom Holland brought her into the Spider-Man family. In her words:

Tom Holland might be known for accidentally revealing Marvel spoilers, but I've got to give him his flowers here. Despite limited screen time, Yelena was a delightful part of Brand New Day. I loved her calling Spidey's problems "small potatoes" and making him uncomfortable by meeting her in a spa aka her "office." Marvel fans often wonder why The Avengers aren't called in for solo movies, and Destin Daniel Cretton's movie addressed this by Peter going to Yelena for help. Add in the other heroes in the movie, and the latest Spider-Man movie felt like it was ripped straight from the comics.

Pugh will once again reprise her role as Yelena in Avengers: Doomsday as part of the 2026 movie release list. Fans are hoping that Spider-Man: Brand New Day's credits scene means that Holland pop up in that movie or Secret Wars, but it's currently unclear if that'll happen. Fingers crossed we get to see Peter and Yelana back onscreen together soon.

While Spider-Man has had a major presence on the big screen for years now, the franchise has permeated the small screen, thanks to Amazon’s Prime Video. The streamer has been seeking to produce spinoffs not centered on Peter Parker, with the most recent being the 2026 TV schedule offering Nicolas Cage-led Spider-Noir. Cage’s show was canceled after one season this past summer, but the streamer is already working on another Spidey show. And I’m very surprised by the storyline that’s apparently inspiring it.

Prime Video is reportedly working on a show based on the “Clone Saga” from the Spider-Man comics, specifically the second one. That premise of that particular story focuses on two clones of Peter Parker – Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker. According to Deadline, though, fans likely shouldn’t expect this to be a by-the-book adaptation, as the series could make some notable changes to the source material. It’s been alleged that the creative team – headed up by Kelvin Yu – could make some key alterations to Kaine and Ben.

In the comics, Kaine Parker is the first clone made by the Jackal, and he’s eventually found to be genetically flawed. That leads Jackal to create an improved clone, Ben Reilly. Ben (whose name utilizes Uncle Ben Parker’s first name and Aunty May’s maiden name) is a well-meaning clone who becomes a hero in his own right, the Scarlet Spider. Per the trade, the show may see Ben and Kane take on new identities, therefore changing their clone origins. Yet a different account suggests the pair will remain clones and take on other clones.

Regardless of which way the producers go here, I’m just surprised that the “Clone Saga” could actually end up being the basis of a TV show. Yes, it’s a popular storyline, but it’s quite massive and would feel more like something fit for the big screen. Tackling this plot with a TV show does make sense, as there would be an ample amount of time to flesh out the main characters. However, there’s still the matter of whether there would be any kind of reference to Peter Parker (and, if so, which Peter would that be).

Sony’s overall Spider-Man franchise has become quite vast, as Tom Holland’s Spider-Man franchise is still going, with the latest installment – Brand New Day – crushing at the box office. As for the future of Holland’s franchise, it’s been suggested that a fifth film may happen at some point. There’s also the animated Spider-Verse franchise, which is set to conclude amid the 2027 movie schedule with Beyond the Spider-Verse.

We’ll ultimately have to wait and see just what ends up happening with this Clone Saga show, including whether it ultimately gets picked up. It’d certainly be an interesting addition to the Spidey TV canon and, depending on what way creator Kelvin Yu and co. would go with it, it could become Prime’s most ambitious Spidey-based project to date. Still, I need to hear more before I’m truly sold on this project.

In the meantime, stream all of Spider-Noir now using a Prime Video subscription.

I already have some concerns about the next Star Wars trilogy. I recently wrote about how fans are questioning Lucasfilm’s apparent return to the Skywalker Saga, and I’m still firmly in the camp that would rather spend some time exploring literally anywhere else in this enormous galaxy. One part of the latest news I’m considerably less worried about is Jon Watts. Still, that hasn't stopped a large outpouring of fan backlash to the director's hiring. Now a viral tweet is clapping back.

Watts is reportedly attached to direct the first movie in Simon Kinberg’s developing trilogy, and the reaction online has been rough. Some fans immediately questioned the choice, while others pointed toward their dislike of Skeleton Crew or argued that Lucasfilm is once again playing things far too safe. However, another viral response making the rounds, see below, essentially asked why everyone is acting like hiring the movie maker is some five-alarm disaster. I’m kind of with them.

To be fair, I do understand some of the frustration Star Wars fans are expressing, but why is the backlash against Jon Watts so loud? Let’s break it down.

Jon Watts Backlash Heated Up Pretty Fast

The Spider-Man director is not exactly the most exciting filmmaker choice. He isn't the type of director you hire when you want audiences wondering what strange auteur experiment Disney has cooked up. He spent three Spider-Man movies working comfortably within the MCU movie machine, then co-created Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. If you complain that Lucasfilm should be handing these movies to filmmakers with really aggressive, unmistakable styles, I can see the argument.

Some X users were considerably less diplomatic. Complaints included Watts getting another major franchise, criticism of his previous work, and broader exhaustion with Star Wars' current direction. Here are some of the loudest critics' comments:

• @JboiHQ: "Clinging onto the hope that Jon Watts’ Star Wars movie might have some of the sauce of Skeleton Crew, even if Watts himself directed two of the more juiceless episodes"
• @TaeGlLuv: “ I thought i was numb to bs they keep churning out but the words “jon watts” and “simon kinberg” genuinely sent me reeling ENOUGHHHH put this franchise out of its misery please god
• @SavintheBees: “Disney really dgaf that’s crazy. Jon watts movie written by Simon Kinberg gotta be a humiliation ritual.”
• @MovieMantze: “May the Force stop beating a dead horse.”

The mood around Lucasfilm’s latest announcements seems to have a considerable degree of enthusiasm somewhere south of a Sarlacc pit. And again, I have questions about this upcoming trilogy, too. Still, my trepidation comes down to the screenwriter.

Reports indicate Simon Kinberg is writing the films and that they may carry on the Skywalker Saga, potentially with Daisy Ridley returning as Rey. Disney has not officially greenlit the trilogy, and Lucasfilm has not clarified whether these really are Episodes X through XII. But “I don’t want more Skywalker” and “Jon Watts is a terrible director” are two very different arguments.

Watts’ Resume Is Pretty Solid

This is where the pushback makes sense to me. The former MCU helmer directed Spider-Man: Homecoming, Far From Home and No Way Home. Their Rotten Tomatoes critic scores currently sit at 92%, 91% and 93%, respectively. No Way Home also became one of the biggest theatrical events of the pandemic era.

Then there is Skeleton Crew. You absolutely do not have to like it, but critics largely did. The Disney+ series sits at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 79% audience score. Watts co-created the show and directed its premiere and finale. That is hardly the résumé of somebody who wandered onto the Lucasfilm lot and was handed the keys to the Melinniem falcon.

Is the Spidey trilogy director a safe choice? Sure. But “safe” can mean competent, reliable and capable of handling enormous franchise machinery without the production imploding. Given that Disney has spent years announcing new Star Wars movies that never actually reach theaters, I can understand why Lucasfilm might value someone who has already delivered three huge franchise movies and knows this universe.

My bigger concern remains the story. I want Star Wars to move forward. I want new corners of the galaxy, new families and new problems that do not somehow trace back to Palpatine’s extended genealogy. As for the director himself? I’m willing to let the man cook.

We have some time before Jon Watts' Star Wars hits screens; until then, fans can revisit Skeleton Crew with a Disney+ subscription.

Almost two decades in, The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a well-oiled machine at this point. Folks have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order, and certain franchises have become fan favorites in the process. Chief among them is Tom Holland's Spider-Man movies (streaming with a Disney+ subscription), but the actor revealed one comic moment that he's been actively trying to see get the live-action treatment. To be honest, I'd love to see it.

The most recent MCU title was Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which broke records at the box office and showed how passionate fans continue to be about Holland's Peter Parker. During an interview with Bleeding Cool, the 30 year-old actor revealed that he actively tried to get one comic book moment into his latest Marvel movie, saying:

Honestly, this would be pretty iconic. The Spider-Man movies have had plenty of thrilling action and plot twists, but he hasn't had the chance to unceremoniously stop a fight before it begins with one punch. After reading Holland's description, I have to admit that now I want to see this happen in an upcoming Marvel movie.

It does feel like this quick scene could have happened during Brand New Day. While Peter couldn't punch Sadie Sink's Jean Grey, this moment could have happened in the Act 1 montage of Spider-Man kicking butt in the years since No Way Home's twist ending. Later in the same interview, Tom Holland spoke more about how long he's campaigned for it on the big screen, offering:

There's always plenty of comedic beats in the MCU's Spider-Man movies, so this doesn't feel totally off brand to happen on the big screen. Alas, the Odyssey actor hasn't gotten the chance to end a fight with one quick punch to the face. Hopefully this moment gets to happen before Holland ends his tenure as everyone's favorite wall crawler.

The fandom is already curious about when Tom Holland will return to the big screen as Peter Parker, with Brand New Day's credits scene seemingly hinting at a role in Secret Wars. Although given Marvel's tight security, fans are largely in the dark.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now and the next Marvel movie will be Avengers: Doomsday on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to wait and see if/when we get confirmation about Holland's return.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the home of a ton of different franchises, which grace theaters and stream with a Disney+ subscription. Tom Holland's Spider-Man movies are particularly popular, just look at Brand New Day's record-breaking box office performance. Information about the previous films are still coming out, and one fun fact about Peter Parker's wrinkly suit has me shocked at the stage of CGI as a whole.

Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order will likely recall Doc Ock's entrance in No Way Home. Peter starts the scene wearing a wrinkled suit, as he's trying to impress an MIT administrator. In a clip from Vanity Fair's Instagram, visual effects supervisor Kelly Port shared how that costume piece came together, saying:

Tom Holland might be known for accidentally revealing spoilers, but he also brings a ton of creativity and physicality to his ongoing role in the MCU. Case in point: the bridge scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home featuring a stunt by the actor, as well as a great idea for how his costume should look after being in the Iron Spider suit. Although it's the way the visual effects department pulled this off that's really blowing my mind.

Later in the same clip, Port revealed that it was actually easier to digitally put the Spider-Man suit over Tom Holland, than trying to render all the details that would come with his wrinkled suit. As he explained:

One might think that digitally creating a blazer and slacks would be easier than Peter's badass Iron Spider suit, but that's not the case. After all, we'd seen the suit in action during Spider-Man: Infinity War. Wrinkles might be hard to iron out IRL, but they're likely even more difficult to create and track via CGI in a believable way. Color me intrigued.

MCU typically seems like a well-oiled machine for fans, so it's always fun to learn how the sausage gets made. Every costume transformation takes time and thought, and you can see Kelly Port tell this story below:

As previously mentioned, Brand New Day is the latest Spider-Man movie to achieve massive success, with Tom Holland's hero continuing to be one of the most popular characters in the entire MCU. Fans are hoping that BND's credits scene is setting up his role in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars, but we'll have to wait for official confirmation from the studio.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still in theaters now, while its predecessors are streaming on Disney+. The next upcoming Marvel movie is Avengers: Doomsday on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a well-oiled machine at this point, with the studio consistently releasing new titles in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. The latest big screen adventure was Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which broke records at the box office upon its release. Although despite how great the movies are, it sounds like trying to plan a new Spidey film with Sony is a brutal challenge

Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order were thrilled when Spider-Man entered in Captain America: Civil War, and his solo movies have been wildly popular. During an interview with The Bulwark, writer Chris McKenna (who has worked on all of Holland's solo films) got real about how hard i tis to nail down a villain. He spoke about nailing down Sadie Sink's Jean Grey, offering:

Honestly, my head is spinning. While making each new upcoming Marvel movie is a ton of work, the Spider-Man films have the added challenge of trying to please two different studios. After all, Marvel and Sony have a joint custody agreement with Holland's hero that can complicate things. Landing on villains seems to be a particular challenge for McKenna and company.

While Spider-Man has a ton of beloved villains to chose from for each new movie, Sony has its own plans that can sometimes collide with the vision for the Marvel films. In the same interview, the writer spoke about this popping up during No Way Home, and how the original plans conflicted with the animated Spider-Verse movies. In his words:

The Spot was a villain in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and because of this Chris McKenna and the team behind No Way Home had to pivot and find another villain. In the end they'd compile a huge list of antagonists from across three franchises. So I guess they landed in the right place.

The acclaimed writer spoke more about how difficult it was to find the right villain for No Way Home, and revealed another bad guy from the comics they were going to include. He said:

Talk about FOMO. We've yet to see Kraven and Spider-Man face off on the big screen, despite being one of the most iconic members of his rogues gallery. He seemed like a natural fit to go against Tom Holland's Peter Parker, but those plans also got scrapped after Sony announced the ill-fated Kraven the Hunter movie. As the writer went on to share:

Well, this must have been maddening. Despite all the behind the scenes shakeups, Spider-Man: No Way Home found its villains, and ended up being both a critical and box office success. The same can also be said for Brand New Day, which introduced a new Jean Grey to the shared universe. We'll just have to wait and see what complications come out of Marvel's ongoing partnership with Sony for the franchise.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to see when Spidey shows up next in the shared universe; the Brand New Day credits scene seemed to tease a role in Secret Wars.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day marked Tom Holland’s seventh time playing the beloved Marvel superhero. And, as the actor has admitted lately, doing stunts isn’t like they were when he first started playing the character at 18. He’s got to stretch and take more breaks than before. And, funny enough, that fact actually inspired one great gag in the movie.

Those who've seen Brand New Day probably remembers the stretching scene. (I mean hasn’t everyone seen it? It just surpassed a top-grossing Star Wars movie at the box office, and it's the highest grossing film amongst 2026 movie releases.) Right before the wall-crawler fights some bad guys in the third act, he stops and works out his body a bit. Here’s what Tom Holland had to say about how that scene came to be:

Holland shared the story while on Late Night With Seth Meyers, and it is too good! I love this behind-the-scenes bit from the fan-favorite actor because, when I saw the scene for the first time, it felt like a natural requirement for Spidey given the character is a bit older now.

On an even funnier note Holland shared that he and the crew almost took the stretching bit in Brand New Day even further. In his words:

It's hard not to love the hilarious ideas Holland and director Destin Daniel Cretton were coming up with while filming Brand New Day. All in all, it sounds like a very collaborative and fun process on set.

As Holland admitted on the Late Night, reprising the role of Spider-Man this time was “a real kick in the nuts” and a “reality check” for him, because his body isn’t the same as it was when he first started over a decade ago. And, as he joked in another interview, he’s starting to feel "too old for this".

Holland turned 30 back in June and, five years prior, he actually made a comment that generated a lot of discussion. The Cherry star said, “If I’m playing Spider-Man after I’m 30, I’ve done something wrong.” Holland recently responded to the quote, saying that “maybe I need to change the quote to 37.”

The actor may not be a teenager anymore, but I definitely like to see him continue playing the character. He got super jacked this time around, proving he's still in great shape. Not only that, but it definitely feels like there’s a lot more that can be explored with his Peter Parker before he passes the baton.

Another Spider-Man movie hasn’t been added to the list of upcoming Marvel movies, but we know he’ll return. And let Tom Holland's BTS story remind us to remember to stretch before exercise. Because, hey even the friendly neighborhood hero needs to!

It would be a gross understatement to say that Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been a box office juggernaut since its release as part of the 2026 movie schedule. After the film opened in late July, it remained No. 1 at the B.O. for five weeks in a row and was only just dethroned by Practical Magic 2. As it stands, the Tom Holland-led flick is now the highest grossing movie of the year and the third highest-grossing movie of all time. Now, it’s just overtaken another big record from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Lucasfilm celebrated.

Since 2015, J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens held the record for the highest-grossing domestic release of all time with a whopping $936 million in North America. However, that record is no more, as Destin Daniel Cretton’s Brand New Day has notched $936.773 million domestically after 47 days in theaters. Upon that new benchmark being established, Lucafilm shared a fun graphic on Instagram, and I love just how perfect it is. Take a look for yourself, and I dare you not to crack a smile:

The sight of a triumphant Spider-Man celebrating while X-wings fly over the New York City landscape makes this nerd chuckle, and that Force-related caption is a perfect way to sum up this tremendous accomplishment. What warms my heart even more is that this gesture signifies a sizable amount of respect between studios and, over the years, it’s become a tradition of sorts. Sure, Disney owns both Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios (which co-produced this Spidey flick with Sony), but it’s still a lovely sign of admiration.

Aside from the Star Wars-centric studio, a couple of others have also given Brand New Day its flowers amid its historic run at the box office. Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo celebrated after Cretton’s film overtook theirs for the highest domestic opening with $360 million. The brothers – who are currently working on Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars – marked the occasion with a sweet graphic as well, and it can be seen below:

There are so many adjectives that can be used to describe Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s success. I mean, there’s “amazing,” “spectacular” and “sensational,” just to name a few. After swinging past projections in its first weekend, the movie swung to $1 billion worldwide only six days after its release, and it eventually notched $2 billion after three weekends. Right now, this latest Marvel film sits at $2.45 billion worldwide, and I can’t help but wonder if it’ll move up another slot on the highest-grossing movie list before it’s all said and done.

Of course, at this point, questions remain in regard to what Sony, Marvel and Tom Holland want to do with the future of this franchise. It would seem foolish, on paper, not to make a fifth film with Holland in the lead. Sony’s Tom Rothman recently made a Super Bowl analogy while discussing the franchise’s future and essentially admitted he was unsure of what would happen. Something Holland has been adamant about, however, is having his Peter pass the baton to Miles Morales at some point.

Right now, though, I’m just locked in on the current Spidey film’s box office performance as well as the sweet gestures others have extended towards it. If the movie does hit any additional benchmarks before it leaves theaters, I wouldn’t be surprised if another studio or filmmaker released another celebratory graphic.

Anyone who somehow has yet to see Spider-Man: Brand New Day can swing over to a theater and check it out. Fans can also stream the first three films in the franchise using a Disney+ subscription.

Over the last decade and change, The Marvel Cinematic Universe has grown into a behemoth franchise that spans both movies and TV shows that air with a Disney+ subscription. Fans who have watched the Marvel movies in order have seen how Tom Holland got a reputation for accidentally spoiling movies, often going viral in the process. But how does the 30 year-old actor feel about this perception?

Holland is a beloved part of the MCU, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day beating out even Avengers: Endgame's box office haul. But aside from his A+ performances as Peter Parker, he's also known for repeatedly spoiling movies, despite Marvel's tight security. In a video from the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Odyssey actor was asked about how folks are constantly dunking on him about spoilers, responding with:

Talk about a good attitude. While some actors might hate that the public is constantly poking fun at their mistakes, that's not the case for Tom Holland. Instead, he kind of likes the way he can be the butt of the joke. Clearly he's not taking all the memes and jabs too seriously.

Of course, he's not the only Marvel actor who has a penchant for spoilers. The same can also be said for Mark Ruffalo, who famously ruined Infinity War's ending before its release. In that interview, Holland went on to share his POV, offering:

What a self-aware king. It looks like, while he does sometimes let things slip, he and the promotional team behind the Spider-Man movies can sometimes lean into it. That might explain viral moments he's had like live streaming as he opened a box that revealed Infinity War's poster and release date. Or perhaps its another one of his viral snafus from across his Marvel career.

In the same podcast, Tom Holland went on to share why he's gotten such a reputation for having loose lips. Namely because of his fandom and excitement for his role as Peter Parker in the MCU. As he put it:

That type of excitement is palpable as Holland does press tours for the Spider-Man movies, although it can sometimes get out of control when he says something he's not supposed to. But that enthusiasm also translates to his performances throughout the MCU, which are filled with childlike wonder and naivety that have made him a standout Peter Parker.

Luckily, Tom Holland managed to finish the press tour of Spider-Man: Brand New Day without revealing too much. That movie is still in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. Now fans are hoping he appears in one of the next two Avengers movies, with Doomsday arriving on December 18th.

It's no secret that comic book movies are everywhere, with various cinematic universes competing for box office supremacy. Moviegoers who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order have watched Tom Holland's wildly popular tenure as Spider-Man (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription), including Brand New Day's wild box office success. The actor recently mused about which superhero movie his Peter Parker would love, and some points were made.

While fans are wondering what upcoming Marvel movies he'll appear in next, Tom Holland is fresh off the promotion tour of both Brand New Day and The Odyssey. In an interview on Instagram for the latter movie, the 30 year-old actor was asked which of Christopher Nolan's movies would be his signature character's favorite. He responded with:

I'm not mad about this answer, as Holland offered a trifecta of A+ titles from the acclaimed filmmaker. Although his comments about The Dark Knight started a larger conversation about how Spider-Man might have reacted to Christopher Nolan's take on Batman. It's the DC/Marvel crossover I didn't know we needed.

The Dark Knight Trilogy (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription) is universally acclaimed, so it tracks that Peter Parker would love the movies as well. In the same interview, the Uncharted actor mused about how he might have been influenced by seeing Nolan's Batman films, as he said in the same interview:

Honestly, this feels so on brand. Holland's Peter has the most childlike energy out of the three Spider-Men, so it tracks that he might have changed up his style if he got a chance to watch Christian Bale's Batman kick ass in the Dark Knight films. Although I have to assume that wearing a cape would make swinging on webs throughout New York City a bit more challenging.

During that interview, alongside Dark Knight Rises star Anne Hathaway, the Cherry actor went on to share how Spider-Man might have wanted to emulate Batman. As he put it:

Who needs to web swing if you've got your very own Spideymobile? I mean, Batman's signature ride is truly iconic, and its usually fit with an array of helpful weapons and gadgets. And given Peter Parker's intellect and proficiency with technology, it actually doesn't feel impossible that he'd get his own sweet ride. Now I kind of want to see this happen on the big screen.

I do wonder if superhero movies exist in the MCU. We saw that Rogers: The Musical went to Broadway in-universe, so are there film adaptations of The Avengers' missions? I need to know more.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. Fans are hoping to see Holland in one of the upcoming Avengers movies, but only time will tell if he shows up.

There’s no question The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day have been massive for the 2026 box office. Heading into the summer, the movie ticket season was 24% behind in revenue domestically from where it was at the same time in 2019 –before the pandemic changed viewing habits for quite some time. However, heading into fall, we’re now just 7.5% behind domestically. Narrowing that gap has been a feat, and we can thank Christopher Nolan, Destin Daniel Cretton and co for a huge chunk of the win there. Yet, I think by focusing on these two movies, we’re missing out on the really interesting story.

Yes, The Odyssey And Brand New Day Have Made A Lot Of Money

The Odyssey hit theaters back on July 17, and has been printing money for almost two months now. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Brand New Day hit the 2026 release schedule on July 31. So far, Nolan’s movie has raked in $1,640,796,617 globally at the time of this writing, while Sony’s Marvel movie has done even better, pulling $2,412,641,938 by mid-September. Combined, that’s globally well over 4 billion dollars. Domestically, it’s not too shabby either, as Spidey’s brought in $925 million (and still winning box office week after week) and Odyssey’s done $591 million on the home front.

One additional thing that’s worth noting about The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the fact both are still in theaters and quietly driving new revenue every day. The Odyssey, in fact, just extended its IMAX run until the end of September, and we know premium formats like IMAX can bring in higher revenue rates than your average theater.

Again, there’s no doubt these two movies specifically have made a huge impact this summer, but here’s the stat that will knock your socks off: Domestically, movies in general have brought in $4.76 billion in ticket sales between May and September. That’s the largest amount in that moviegoing stretch in cinema history, and we can’t give all the credit to just these two behemoths.

The Movies That Really Kicked 2026 Into High Gear

However, I’d argue it’s the movies we’re talking about less that really rejuvenated the box office in 2026. The summer movie season arguably kicked off with The Devil Wears Prada 2, which made a splashy entrance with fashionable red carpets and Emily Blunt hiding her outfit behind a dumpster. Domestically, The Devil Wears Prada 2 brought in over $220 million, and over $693 globablly.

Of course, we have been talking about what came next: the double horror duo of Obsession and Backrooms, both which over-performed and broke records. We’d be remiss if we didn’t bring up that Michael made over $372 million domestically and over a billion dollars globally, though there's a question about whether a sequel will ever see the light of day. And Toy Story 5 wasn’t exactly fighting an uphill battle at the box office either. That movie made over $480 million domestically and over a billion globally, too.

What do all of these movies have in common? They offer options for a range of audiences, from families to youngsters who love jump scares. There’s been a push to get more of a wide variety of content into theaters. Horror. Animation. Biopics. Fashion. Comedy. The real interesting story here is that this summer has not just been defined by a couple of tentpole movies. People who love all different kinds of things are getting back to theaters, baby.

In short, we don’t know if movies coming out in the fall and early winter will get 2026’s final box office numbers up passed where they were back in 2019; although unlike four months ago, it's actually looking like a possibility. However, with Jumanji: Open World, the next MCU film Avengers: Doomsday and Dune 3 coming down the pipeline, and Dunesday already making major sales, there’s reason to be optimistic, and to hope for an even wider slate of summer movies in the years to come.

Folks who have been watching the Marvel movies in order know what a giant franchise it is. There are constantly new projects being released in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription, and boss/producer Kevin Feige is the man behind it all. But how much does he actually interfere with individual projects? Spider-Man: Brand New Day's director recently weighed in.

After directing Shang-Chi, filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton worked on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has beat Endgame's box office haul. In an interview with Fresh Air, Cretton got real about how Feige helps to work on the cinematic universe, saying:

This makes a ton of sense. It sounds like, while Feige allows directors to take the reigns with upcoming Marvel movies, he's there to help make the shared universe stays connected in logical and exciting ways. That includes examining new twists, and deciding how/when beloved characters should cross over with each other.

When the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer came out, fan were hyped about the inclusion of both Jon Bernthal's Punisher and Mark Ruffalo's Hulk. In the same interview, Cretton spoke more about how the latter came to be involved in the blockbuster, offering:

Don't you love learning how the sausage gets made? It turns out that Hulk being in Brand New Day was the filmmakers' idea, although they had to get approval from the higher ups. Luckily that's exactly what happened, and the latest Spider-Man movie feels like its straight out of the comics as a result.

Moviegoers really responded to Destin Daniel Cretton's sophomore outing in the MCU, and the crossovers helped to buoy excitement ahead of its release. In addition to Hulk and Punisher, the movie also introduced Sophie Turner's Jean Grey, who will have a role in the developing X-Men movie. So while Brand New Day told an emotional story about Peter Paker's loneliness and declining mental health, it also featured colorful characters from Marvel lore. It really had something for everyone, which is likely why the title's been such a huge success.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. The next Marvel movie hitting theaters is Avengers: Doomsday on December 18th, and there are plenty of fans hoping that Spider-Man will be included... especially after that Brand New Day credits scene.

A rare dual spoiler warning for those who haven’t yet watched either Casper Kelly’s Buddy nor Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The critics-pleasing new horror movie Buddy hasn’t exactly kneecapped mega-blockbusters Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey at the box office, but Casper Kelly’s colorfully calamitous feature broke into the Top 10 in its first week of release, and capitalized on an uptick in theaters for Week 2. Fans are loving the big orange unicorn voiced by Keegan Michael Key, and I’m absolutely in that majority.

Which isn’t to say that I came out of Buddy with a complete understanding of its lore and how things work in this bonkers universe. I still have several lingering questions and curiosities about what went down for Grace, Freddy and other characters. Though I wouldn’t have expected my biggest question from this 2026 movie release to basically be the same one I had coming out of the latest Spider-Man sequel.

Both Movies Deal With Forms Of Memory Manipulation That Aren't Fully Explained

Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s emotional hook, in large part, stemmed from Peter dealing with the aftermath of Doctor Strange’s spell that made everyone forget who Peter is – MJ and Ned in particular — with the ending offering possible hope for that spell to have been broken. But with that hope came lots of confusion and questions about how exactly the human brain’s ability to form memory works against pure magic. And we’ll likely continue asking that question until some future movie answers it.

Buddy doesn’t have any superheroes (that we know of), but there is definitely a kind of dark and evil magic at work dressed up like children’s entertainment. This one doesn’t solely affect memories, though, as it’s made clear during the horror movie’s runtime that reality itself changes whenever a child or adult is swayed into entering their TV screen to join the cast of “It’s Buddy.”

The family sticker on the car window is the clearest indicator, but a far more dramatic version happens even as Cristin Milioti’s Grace is still mostly within the real world, so to speak, with Topher Grace’s Ben seemingly unable to see his in-crisis wife freaking out, followed by a complete bedroom change once she’s fully enveloped. Which leads me to ask…

My Biggest Question: How Are Family Members' Memories And Realities Affected By The Buddy-Verse?

It's unclear exactly when Delaney Quinn's Freddy was drawn into joining Buddy's TV show, but that doesn't seem to have happened very long before the film kicks off, since she still looks the same in the flashback memories near the end. So it appears as if the family was living life normally, and presumably without school administrators calling to ask about Freddy's absences. For most intents and purposes, she and the other kids apparently cease to exist in clear ways to outsiders.

Which makes me wonder how exactly Grace's fleeting memories ended up being the key to breaking through that faux reality. When Freddy and Wade first suspected Buddy of killing Josh, did it crack that reality enough for a sliver of the truth to shine through in Grace's mind? I'll just assume the mother-child connection is why only Grace is affected, while Ben never stops sucking.

If that scenario is indeed close to what screenwriters Casper Kelly and Jamie King had in mind, then I'm newly horrified by the thought of Wade, Oliver and Hannah's respective mothers going through the same emotional turmoil as Grace, but without ever finding their children. I really can't imagine what George's parents must have gone through.

I Have Lots Of Questions Beyond The Memory Stuff

Since I don't expect Buddy's creative team to immediately offer any concrete explanations for characters' memory distortions, I might as well throw out some of the other overarching questions I had while watching.

1. Do the other two unicorns, Bobby and Benny, have their own shows, or did Buddy kill them, too?
2. If going into the Buddy-verse can make everyday objects anthropomorphic like Freddy's backpack, then what's up with those real mailboxes with fake eyes on them? [Pictured above]
3. Is there an area in that school/studio with an actual train locomotive to use as a Charlie replacement?
4. How many children have been "It's Buddy!" cast members?
5. How many children escaped Buddy's yard like George and Willie?
6. Why wasn't Mr. Mailbox's door fixed when "new episodes" started?
7. Is there a "real" person inside the Betty Bunny suit?
8. Is Buddy having sex with Betty and/or the nurses (as partially implied when he lasciviously licked Grace's face)?
9. Are the mail workers and nurses random adults, or are they often parents of the children?
10. Are the names in the "It's Buddy!" credits important to the lore?

I could have kept going with the questions, honestly, but l have this one dining room chair that I definitely need to put in the garage for some reason.

With Spider-Man: Brand New Day still pulling in millions of dollars daily, it doesn’t seem extremely likely that Tom Holland will pass the webslinging baton completely over to another actor for upcoming Marvel movies anytime soon, but that day will definitely come at some point. Which means there are of course already fans hypothesizing about Holland making the leap to the DCU, and someone actually got response from co-head honcho James Gunn about it.

Amazingly enough, Gunn didn’t deliver a flat-out denial in response. Granted, his reply also wasn’t any kind of confirmation that plans are in place to bring Holland into Superman’s orbit, but anyone looking out for the most optimistic approach has something to latch onto here. Check out this fan question posed to Gunn on Threads, followed by the filmmaker’s sarcasm-imbued response.

• Q: Will Tom Holland have a DCU Role in the Future ? I can see him as Either Beast Boy, Kid Flash, Speedy, Aqualad, one of the Robins, Kyle Rayner, Brainiac 5, or Mon-El
  • JAMES GUNN: Not sure 30-year-old Tom wants to follow up Spider-Man with Aqualad.

To first speak to James Gunn's direct point...what a bizarre batch of characters to suggest for Tom Holland's DCU debut, considering most of the ones listed are teenagers or are in their early 20s. I get that it can be easy to forget Tom Holland's exact age, but just remember that he first put on the Spidey suit for Captain America: Civil War a full decade ago, so it probably wouldn't feel like a step up career-wise to jump from a "Man" character to anything more diminuative like Kid Flash or Beast Boy.

Could he pull off looking like a 20-year-old Aqualad or Mon-El? Absolutely, but he's at the point where any long-term franchise roles he takes on should probably skew older, so that he's not forever stuck playing characters so much younger than his own age.

To that end, Tom Holland might indeed be best utilized as a Dick Grayson already rocking his Nightwing persona. Considering we still don't know who the DCU's Batman is, it's not super-likely that he's already on his second or third Robin during the current DCU timeline. So even that most-likely scenario doesn't seem too likely. (Of course, the currently developing Brave and the Bold animated film is supposed to center on Bruce Wayne's relationship with son Damien, maybe the timeline isn't so predictable.

To circle back around how Gunn addressed the main question: all he did was somewhat jokingly comment on Holland probably not wanting to play a "lad" character. But did he actually provide a clear "No" to the general idea of Holland in the DCU? Not at all. Which is obviously not proof that the Spidey star will be popping up in Man of Tomorrow or anything so drastic. But it does seem to leave the door open for a possible team-up in a post-Spider-Man future.

Of course, Tom Holland made enough money to retire 100 times over with Brand New Day's massive success, so it also seems possible that he could just retire from any live-action projects that force him to break a sweat. And no judgment from me if that happens.

We're still waiting to get answers on big questions from Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and to learn what in the (off)world that post-credits scene meant. So there are definitely still stories that need to be told with Holland under the mask. But if there's a future where the actor gets courted to play Booster Gold or even the aforementioned Lantern Kyle Rayner, I won't necessarily shed any spider-shaped tears.

Which DC heroes or villains would you guys like to see Tom Holland play in the DCU's future?

Earlier this year, Nicolas Cage swung onto the small screen by way of his Spider-Noir, a superhero series that put him into the role of the titular superhero and private investigator. It was unfortunately reported just days ago, however, that the series had officially been canceled by Prime Video after only a single season. Fans have since been speaking out about the decision and expressing their disappointment in the process. Now, Cage himself has weighed in, and I find his take on the situation to be quite admirable.

Cage specifically plays the dry-witted Ben Reilly and, with his performance, the leading man chews up a considerable amount of scenery. Before the series’ premiere amid the 2026 TV schedule, Cage spoke enthusiastically about what it was like making the show. Upon the show’s demise, it doesn’t seem like the Oscar winner’s enthusiasm has been extinguished all that much. He recently shared a statement on the cancellation with Deadline and had a positive take:

I can imagine that for actors, it can’t be easy to say goodbye to a TV show, especially after only a single season. Nevertheless, I love that the Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is choosing to be grateful that he was able to slide into this role for a single, “perfect” season and slide out. It’s also comforting to hear that, at the very least, Cage feels as though he’s been able to say everything he wants to say about Reilly.

Created by Oren Uziel and presented in both color and black-and-white, Spider-Noir sees Ben investigating a dangerous case involving a group of metahumans, an enigmatic lounge singer and a local mob boss. Reilly is eventually forced to take up his role as the masked vigilante The Spider once more in order to bring order to the chaos unfolding in 1930s New York. Upon its debut this past May, the series received critical acclaim, with Cage’s performance being singled out. The show was later nominated for 11 Primetime Creative Emmy Awards and won five of them, and that makes this cancellation news sting a bit more.

On the bright side, though, this won’t be the final time Spidey fans get to hear Nic Cage voice a variation of this hard-boiled character. He’s expected to reprise his role as the Peter Parker version of Noir in the upcoming Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Of course, Cage has been well… cagey on what that reprisal will entail, though I remain excited.

Cage’s return in that capacity may not fill the void now that his superhero show has officially come to an end, though it may still provide comfort to some. Admittedly, I also wish the series was moving forward with an additional season filled with over-the-top villains, pulpy intrigue and dry humor. Still, I’m grateful for the eight episodes that exist and that Cage is seemingly at peace with how everything has panned out.

Spider-Noir’s one and only season is still available to stream with a Prime Video subscription, so rewatch it or check it out for the first time.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been acclaimed for more than a few reasons, especially the way in which it furthers the journey of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. This new chapter in Parker’s life also includes a few familiar faces, including Zendaya’s Michelle Jones and Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds. Of course, not everyone from the “Home” trilogy was brought back for the fourth installment, including Angourie Rice’s Betty Brant. Now, Rice is sharing her feelings about not being included in the 2026 movie schedule release.

Rice appeared as Betty – classmate of Peter’s at Midtown School of Science and Technology – throughout the first three installments in Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man series. An aspiring journalist, Betty would sometimes find herself caught in the crosshairs of the dangers that Spider-Man must contend with. Rice recently spoke with Collider about not being brought back for Brand New Day. With that, the Honor Society star clarified whether her character was ever meant to be involved in the narrative:

Considering how much has changed in Parker’s world by the time the events of BND are set in motion, it makes sense that Betty wouldn’t be around. That rings true to the point Rice makes about this movie representing “a new era.” And, as she mentions, "everybody forgets" who Peter is by the end of No Way Home, so it makes sense that Betty wouldn't be in the movie. Despite that, it admittedly would’ve been nice to see Betty in some capacity, given how this series has birthed some fun supporting characters. That detail was also mentioned during Rice’s interview, and she agreed:

So, given Betty’s absence, there’s one lingering question: what’s she up to during Brand New Day? Rice has a take on that, and it makes sense:

Hopefully, Brant is indeed on her way to joining a major and respected news outlet within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When fans last saw her in 2021’s No Way Home, she was interning for J. Jonah Jameson at the controversial Daily Bugle. All of that aside, I’m glad to see Rice has an upbeat attitude about not being involved in this latest Spidey movie. She’s also long shared positive thoughts about her tenure in the MCU, despite having to handle the massive secrecy that surrounds the franchise.

Speaking of which, the future seems bright for the Spider-Man series, and Sony Pictures Chairman Tom Rothman is hopeful about a fifth movie being made at some point. And, even if that’s not the case, the Brand New Day post-credits scene suggests Parker’s story could continue in at least one of the upcoming Avengers movies. Angourie Rice’s Betty may not be involved in any of Peter’s continued adventures either way, but it’s still just comforting to know that she exists within this continuity somewhere.

Check out Rice’s appearances as Betty by streaming the Spider-Man “Home” trilogy with a Disney+ subscription. And, of course, check out Brand New Day in theaters now!

It’s been 14 years since the release of The Amazing Spider-Man, and Andrew Garfield’s career is still thriving. However, before he was cast as Peter Parker in his Spider-Man movies, his dream was to play the webslinger. So, after he did it, did he ever think about quitting acting? Well, he got candid about his outlook on his career and life after he played the iconic Marvel hero.

Now, this topic came up because Garfield was asked what his dream was 15 years ago by Variety. At that time, he was in the midst of making his first Spider-Man movie. And it was a childhood dream come true, as the Oscar nominee explained:

Andrew Garfield once told us that he’d dreamed of playing Spider-Man since he was 4 years old. So, obviously, being cast as Peter Parker was a very big achievement for him.

The Amazing Spider-Man came around about a decade into Garfield’s career. It was made right on the heels of The Social Network (which he should have gotten an Oscar nomination for), and these movies helped define his early career.

Now, it’s been over a decade since his Spider-Man movies were released, and five years since his cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home. He’s filled those years with other great projects (like Tick, Tick…Boom! and Hacksaw Ridge, for example) that have helped shape him into the actor he is today. But has he ever thought about leaving the craft behind? According to him, he thinks about it often:

Well, thinking about doing something and actually doing it are two very different things. While Garfield says he’s thought about stopping, he really isn’t slowing down. In fact, he has three releases on the 2026 movie schedule – The Magic Faraway Tree, which is already out, The Uprising, which premieres on September 11, and Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial, which will premiere at the New York Film Festival on October 5.

So, his Spider-Man years may be behind him, and his priorities may have changed; however, he’s still acting.

While I expect we’ll continue to see Garfield on our screens for years to come, I do wonder how his outlook on life will impact the projects he picks. He said these days he’s more focused on a “certain quality of life” and his relationship with his friends and family. I love that for him, and I cannot wait to see how it impacts his work.

That’s maybe looking too far into the future, though. If you want to see what Andrew Garfield is up to now, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to watch his work in theaters this fall. If you want to see his dream of playing Spider-Man come true, you can stream The Amazing Spider-Man with a Disney+ subscription.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is always releasing exciting new content, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. The latest big screen release was Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which broke records at the box office and is still making money to this day. And Kevin Feige recently explained the wild way that Brand New Day's ending mirrored the first day of shooting the blockbuster. Let's break it all down.

While fans are still trying to decode Brand New Day's credits scene, more information about its production is slowly trickling out. Marvel boss Kevin Feige recently spoke at his alma matter USC about the movie's production (via Instagram) where she spoke about the explosive way filming began. In his words:

This definitely got the internet talking, on top of attracting crowds to watch as Spider-Man swung through the air practically. On top of starting off production for Destin Daniel Cretton's movie with a bang, this moment of fan excitement came full circle when it came to shooting the movie's ending hospital scene.

The Punisher accidentally shoots Spidey during the movie's final battle, and he spends time in the hospital as a result. Frank Castle helps him leave the place undetected, as a crowd of adoring fans waited outside. In the same appearance, Kevin Feige shared how this connected to Brand New Day's first day of filming, offering:

Talk about a full circle moment. Sometimes art can imitate life, and it seems like that's exactly what happened during the production of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In the end this synergy helped make the movie one of Marvel's biggest success stories in years. And fans are already hoping to see Spidey back on the big screen in one of the upcoming Marvel movies like Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars.

Brand New Day is still in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. The next Marvel movie hitting theaters will be Doomsday on December 18th. Hopefully Peter Parker will get in on the fun.

As Tom Holland’s fourth Spidey movie continues to crush at the box office five weeks after its release, I can’t help but think about his first solo outing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Spider-Man: Homecoming completely shifted tonal expectations for an MCU movie when it came out in 2017. And, when CinemaBlend spoke to the Homecoming screenwriters (who shared a delightful Ryan Reynolds story and more), they mentioned a memorable point the character’s own creator, Stan Lee, once made to them.

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley were two of the scribes behind the screenplay for Tom Holland’s first Spider-Man movie. In terms of their approach to Peter Parker, Daley had this to say during our interview:

Homecoming feels like a John Hughes movies, which just happens to take place in the MCU. And, as the filmmakers told us, that was the result of staying true to one important element of the character, which Goldstein said he and Daly discussed with the late Lee:

While most people probably can’t relate to Tony Stark's status as an industrialist or Steve Rogers' position as a super soldier, everyone can see themselves in Spider-Man. And that was a guiding light for the writing partners while working on Homecoming. It’s essentially a high school movie about a character who also has superpowers and connections with an Avenger. However, he still has homework, awkward peer-related moments, insecurities and a big crush.

Of course, Stan Lee and his collaborators were insistent on maintaining the humanity of their characters while also emphasizing their extraordinary responsibilities. I'd say that Daly and Goldstein were smart to stick to that for their first MCU flick.

Almost a decade later, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is still very much that hero in Brand New Day. For example, the movie even got attention from the autism community this time around, as many found their own ways to relate to Peter. But, if it wasn’t for the tone that Homecoming set, we simply wouldn’t be here with the beloved character. Goldstein also told us this about setting the tone:

Since their work on Homecoming, Goldstein and Daley have become powerhouse filmmakers. They’ve written and directed Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons (they’ve even written a sequel) and, now, they have their new movie, Mayday. Mayday stars Ryan Reynolds as an 1980s-era Air Force pilot, who crash lands in Soviet territory and forms an unlikely friendship with an ex-KGB agent played by Kenneth Branagh. You can check it out with an Apple TV subscription starting Friday September 4.

I'd still argue, however, that Spider-Man: Homecoming will remain a crowning jewel within their filmography. And I would imagine that experience is made even sweeter knowing that they were able to consult with "Stan The Man." Do yourself a favor and check out that first movie, which is streamable with a Disney+ subscription. Nuff said.

There's been a lot of emotional Marvel scenes over the years, like when MJ doesn’t remember Peter Parker at all in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, or Steve Rogers' last appearance as an old man in Avengers: Endgame. However, to me, nothing signified a shift in Marvel's tone more blatantly than Tom Holland’s death scene in Avengers: Infinity War. While it was only a temporary departure of that character, it was still extremely emotional, and truly one of the most memorable scenes in the MCU. Now, Robert Downey Jr. is opening up about filming the scene in 2017, and the acting chops Holland had that blew everyone away.

Downey and directors Joe and Anthony Russo opened up about filming Infinity War with CBR. At the time, it was a truly uncertain point for multiple MCU characters, as half of them disintegrated at the end of the film, with the future of their characters in question. Chris Pratt nobly volunteered to go first, infusing some humor into his death scene, but they also wanted to have a more gut-wrenching death as well. Thankfully, Holland was up for the task. Downey explained:

Not only did Holland’s performance break the hearts of the audience members who saw Infinity War in theaters, but it also broke the hearts of the Russo Brothers. They admitted to crying at the monitor during this scene because Holland’s boyish innocence made them think about their own kids. Downey also noted that this kind of emotional performance was a key for him to take a step back with his own, and let Holland command the scene. He said:

Joe Russo explained that while Holland had words like “I’m sorry” and “I don’t feel so good” in the script, direction really helped him get all the way there. He told Holland that his character, Peter Parker, was only 16 years old and wasn’t ready to go. The actor may now be playing Peter in his 30s, but Holland was only 21 when they were filming Infinity War. He took the note and delivered a gut-wrenching, childlike performance as he held Tony Stark, played by Downey. The Oscar winner was beyond impressed by the performance from such a young actor, saying:

It truly is a masterclass in acting. In that moment, the tone shifts completely, and the audience understands the true gravity of the situation. The heroes lost, and now they are dying. It also totally sets the tone for the dark place Avengers: Endgame stars in, raising the stakes for everything to come, including real character deaths that are even more permanent, like the passing of Black Widow and Tony Stark himself. It is a scene that rarely gets its flowers, and I’m glad this trio took the time to give Holland the praise he deserves for this performance.

You can revisit Tom Holland’s gut-wrenching performance in Avengers: Infinity War with a Disney+ subscription. Fans can also look forward to Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU for Avengers: Doomsday, which hits theaters on December 18, 2026.

Sony Pictures once had plans for a ‘fresh reboot’ of the Spider-Man live-action universe. However, those plans seemed shaky at best after the underperformance of Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter at the box office. Ever since, I’ve been wondering what’s going on with Sony’s Marvel spin-offs, and someone finally asked an executive.

Chairman Tom Rothman spoke with Variety about the huge success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and any plans Sony has for other Marvel characters. For the most part, I saw his answer coming. But the executive got straight to the point:

While the Venom trilogy with Tom Hardy did decent, until The Last Dance, other attempts for Sony haven’t done as well. However, the character is going to live again with Sony focusing on an animated movie starring the Spider-Man villain. Animation seems to be the direction the production company is leaning toward following the brutal reviews for S. J. Clarkson’s Madame Web and lackluster performance of J.C. Chandor’s Kraven the Hunter. (However, both movies have gotten a second life with streaming after doing well on Netflix.) Though there is no other details for the Venom project at this time.

Before these spin-offs, Sony also released Daniel Espinosa’s Morbius, starring Jared Leto, which also had negative reviews and didn’t do well at theaters. Given these iffy box office performances, it put the future of the Sony-Marvel projects up in the air. But now, Rothman gives us an answer:

This may be a disappointment for some, but I have some good news. The animated Spider-Verse is continuing with Beyond the Spider-Verse on the slate for Sony’s upcoming 2027 releases. The movie seems to be a tentative conclusion for the trilogy. However, there are rumored spin-offs, Spider-Punk and Spider-Gwen, in development.

Additionally, the enjoyable Nicholas Cage-led Spider-Noir did well with audiences. Though we don’t know if there will be a Season 2 for the series. As for Tom Holland’s future as Spider-Man, Rothman “doesn’t know at this point,” but he “certainly hopes” to keep the actor for another sequel in the future. And the company does have other non-Marvel upcoming 2026 movies, such as Jumanji: Open World, coming out.

While there's nothing new in development for live-action spin-offs, I'm confident they'll have success with Beyond the Spider-Verse. And then maybe we can see that world expand.

Tom Holland and Zendaya are just married. Despite the rumor mill and the coincidence that was Zendaya method dressing for her hit 2026 movie release The Drama, Law Roach and finally the couple themselves confirmed the nuptials happened. It was about time, too, as the game of talking around it was starting to get a little stale.

What’s not stale? Holland his partner (nicknamed Maree by the Spidey star)’s full romance timeline. It’s amazing they’ve been spending time together for over a decade, now, and managed to maintain a lovely, private, but fully blossoming romance while still spending a ton of time in the public eye. This is how they did it.

Mid-Late 2016: Remember When Both Stars Were Very Active On Instagram?

Tom Holland and Zendaya made their big screen debut together in Spider-Man: Homecoming. That one came out in 2017, but as often happens with big movie releases, it actually started filming quite a bit earlier. Zendaya and Tom Holland actually had a lot of heartwarming moments on the press, starting in the summer of 2016 when the movie filmed and continuing ahead of release.

At the time, they couldn’t have known what was ahead from both career and relationship standpoints.

July, 2017 – Rumors Start To Spread About Them Dating (Plus, Lip Sync Battle)

Tom Holland and Zendaya filmed Spider-Man: Homecoming together a year prior to the release of the actual Marvel movie, but from early on after Z was confirmed to play MJ, there were plenty of rumors flying around about their relationship. At the time of the flick’s release, an insider seemingly confirmed (via People) they’d been seeing one another for a while.

That month, Holland and Zendaya also famously appeared on the popular series Lip Sync Battle, otherwise known as the episode where Tom Holland dressed in drag and performed Rihanna’s "Umbrella." People still ask the actor about his Lip Sync Battle to this day, and it’s clear from the appearance the two were spending time together.

August, 2017: Zendaya Says That They're Just Friends

Per usual, Zendaya liked to throw a little water on the fire. A month after rumors ran around they might very well be seeing one another, she dissented saying in a famous interview with interview with Variety they were “just friends.”

Listen, Zendaya, I’ve seen that Ryan Reynolds movie and I know how it ends.

May, 2018: Met Gala Momentum

In May of 2018, Zendaya was seen in armor for “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” She’s been in wilder outfits at this point, including her Dune C3P0 armor, but out the time this was pretty outlandish for the star, and a very memorable celebrity fashion moment. Tom Holland didn’t attend with her, but he did say the following on social media:

They were leaving breadcrumbs at this point, but very much in the pal "mate" phase on social media.

June, 2019: Peter and MJ Shared Their First On-Screen Kiss In Spider-Man: Far From Home

Tom Holland and Zendaya were not officially confirmed to be together when they filmed Spider-Man: Far From Home. In fact, we were more than a year away from a confirmation at this point, but MJ and Peter Parker taking things a step forward certainly did nothing to dissuade the rumor mill.

Jul-Sept, 2021: Tom Holland And Zendaya In A Car, K-I-S-S-I-N-G (+ Instagram Official)

By 2021, the rumors Zendaya and Tom Holland had gone on date nights seemed pretty substantial, and were seemingly confirmed when Page Six caught them kissing in a car in July of that year. Would Tom Holland and Zendaya have confirmed they were dating otherwise? We'll probably never know, because they were caught.

With the cat out of the bag, just a couple of months later, Tom Holland celebrated Zendaya's birthday with this cool post:

In 2021, a lot of famous a-listers were still frequent posters and Holland was no exception. He's said several times over the past few years he'll delete Instagram on his phone for his mental health. There are some exceptions, like specifically popping on for a Bero campaign, etc, but he was much more online still around this time.

October, 2021: Zendaya Shared What She Likes About Tom Holland

If this were a Zendaya article, I'd be talking about her awesome In Style cover. It's bomb.com, but what she said inside about her new beau Tom Holland was the real page-turner.

I have seen separate footage of Tom Holland offering Zendaya a Jaffa Cake, and in no way, shape or form, does she sound British.

January, 2022: The One Where We Thought Tom Holland Would Cameo In Euphoria

By 2022, the two were posting about one another on social media on the regular for releases like Spider-Man: No Way Home or other events when Zendaya looked stunning on the red carpet. In January of that year, Zendaya also spilled the beans about Tom Holland popping by the Euphoria set during Season 2. At the time, she even teased a cameo in an interview with Access Hollywood, noting, "Maybe we can get him in the background of a shot eventually."

Chloe Cherry later confirmed to CinemaBlend he would just pop by, telling us:

There was a long period of time when I hoped this cameo would happen, but given the way Euphoria Season 3 ended, that feels unlikely now.

Feb, 2022-Early 2023: The Two Glowed On The Red Carpet (And At Other Events)

As often happens with a-lister celebrity couples, Tom Holland and Zendaya were mostly noted for their work and their red carpet appearances in 2022 and 2023. They were firmly together in the public eye at this point and were photographed together for all of the Spider-Man promotional stuff at the end of 2021. In 2022, Holland's blockbuster Uncharted debuted, and Zendaya was seen holding hands with him in New York around the time he was doing press. They visited the Louvre and also reportedly took a trip to see Usher in Mumbai.

Closer to home, they were photographed together during a Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Golden State Warriors game in May of 2023. The two got around. During this period, Tom Holland also famously got sober.

June, 2023: Tom Holland Opened Up About Keeping Their Relationship Private

In 2023, Tom Holland first got candid about taking initiative to keep his relationship with Zendaya private. He said at the time:

This was the first time he really got candid about their philosophy. However, In the time since, this has become a common theme for both stars. Zendaya spoke about this again a few years later when she confirmed she likes to keep things under lock and key so the Internet doesn't catch wind of it.

February, 2024: Tom Holland And Zendaya Perfected Privacy In The Moment With Dune 2

We know Tom Holland and Zendaya like privacy, and while they often have to do red carpets together when they star in the same movie, when it is their time to shine, they have a system. This was reported on in a big way with Dune 2 when Zendaya walked the red carpet alone, and Tom Holland joined her at the afterparty following the event in Leicester Square in which she donned her now-infamous armored look. Way to have your cake and eat it too.

January, 2025: Tom Holland And Zendaya Got Engaged!

While rumors began spreading at the 2025 Golden Globes thanks to the rock on Zendaya's finger, and independent outlets seemingly confirmed it, Tom Holland’s father actually confirmed the couple got engaged a short time later. He said it happened over the holidays, and that his son had done the traditional thing and asked for permission from Zendaya's dad in advance. So, it didn't take long for this cat to be out of the bag.

March, 2026: A Real Wedding Or Just The Drama?

In March of 2026, an insider said Tom Holland and Zendaya had gotten married. She was seen out in public for weeks with a ring on her finger, but the story was muddied a bit due to Zendaya wearing a slew of wedding-themed clothing for her movie The Drama with Robert Pattinson. Was it method dressing at its finest or a hint she was already married? You can definitely say she brought the drama to the press tour.

Her famous stylist eventually confirmed we weren't going to get to see Zendaya's dress because they were already married. That put the rumor mill to rest, mostly, but thankfully Holland also admitted AI photos running around didn't phase (most of) his family because they'd all been at his real wedding. He also joked about his wedding on The Odyssey press tour, taking some pressure off the question.

August, 2026: The Summer Of Tom Holland And Zendaya Continues With A Second Wedidng

We'd been talking about it being a big summer for Tom Holland and Zendaya well before all of the marriage rumors came down the pipeline. With all of the press tour work the two did for The Odyssey and then Spider-Man: Brand New Day the couple had been together a lot over the summer months. There were interviews. There were photocalls. There were red carpets. There was a lot of press work, but after it was all over, the couple also opted for a second wedding.

This one people found out about the weekend it happened at the Beaverbrook Hotel near their home in London. I'm not sure if the leak was intentional or an accident, but fans were happy to hear some of the details this time. It certainly put the wedding rumors to rest for good.

Tom Holland and Zendaya both turn 30 this year, and still have a lot of life ahead of them. For now, we're sending our congrats to the happy couple and a hope for many felicitous returns.

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man franchise couldn’t be in a better place these days. Its latest movie, Brand New Day, has become the highest-grossing 2026 movie release in the world, and fans love it, too! But, there was a time when Sony was having Spidey troubles, and sadly Shailene Woodley’s cut role as Mary Jane Watson was a casualty. The actress just talked about what happened exactly with her Amazing Spider-Man past.

If you were following along with The Amazing Spider-Man movies back in the early 2010s, you probably know Woodley was cast as Mary Jane Watson. She was even seen on the set of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (red hair and all) filming a scene with Andrew Garfield. But, it never made it to the big screen. Here’s how things went down, per Woodley:

Whoa, three scenes! That’s rather sizable. Woodley reflected on the Spider-Man role that got away during a career retrospective with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. As she added:

Woodley was 21 years old at the time, and had recently had awards buzz for her role in The Descendants with George Clooney. The movie earned her a meeting with The Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb, which led to her booking the role of MJ. However, ultimately, it was apparently decided that they wouldn’t introduce Peter Parker’s new love interest so soon after Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy dies in TASM2 until the planned third movie.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 left a lot of unresolved things, which never had the chance to be explored. Sony scrapped The Amazing Spider-Man 3 back in February 2015. A few months later, Tom Holland was cast as Spider-Man and the character joined the MCU. Woodley also said this about her cut role:

Based on what we know about the fall of Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man and the rise of Tom Holland’s version had very little to do with the actors part of them. At the time, Sony initially hoped to launch an expanded universe to compete with the MCU that involved Spider-Man spinoff films. After TASM2 wasn’t well received, it instead led to a deal between Sony and Marvel Studios.

Ultimately, Andrew Garfield had the chance to return to the role of Spider-Man for 2021’s No Way Home alongside Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland. As for Shailene Woodley, Mary Jane Watson role, we’ll always wonder what that could have been like. Where’s the justice for her?

Tom Holland's Peter Parker probably wasn't trying to become the world's biggest box office while trying to stop Sadie Sink's Jean Gray from mentally taking over New York City, but that's exactly what's been happening since Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man; Brand New Day nearly hit $1 billion in its first week in theaters. It remained in the top spot the next week, as well as each week after that. And it looks like James Cameron's Titanic is the next box office king the webslinger will soon bypass.

First released in 1997 (and then later for limited theatrical rereleases), Titanic has been the lone pre-2000 holdout in the Top 10 highest global box office earners, with Star Wars: The Phantom Menace as the only other '90s movie in the Top 25. But the historical romantic drama will almost definitely get overtaken soon by Brand New Day, the second-fastest movie to reach $2 billion. Meaning the disaster flick will at last get ousted from its lofty spot in the Top 5. Here are the most current tracking totals:

Top 10 Worldwide Lifetime Grosses

1. Avatar - $2.923,710,708
2. Avengers: Endgame - $2,799,439,100
3. Avatar: The Way of Water - $2,334,484,620
4. Ne Zha 2 - $2,270,700,370
5. Titanic - $2,264,812,968
6. Spider-Man: Brand New Day - $2,223,400,177
7. Star Wars: The Force Awakens - $2,071,310,218
8. Avengers: Infinity War - $2,052,415,039
9. Spider-Man: No Way Home - $1,921,426,073
10. Zootopia 2 - $1,866,647,950

As it's made clear, Brand New Day is the only 2026 movie release in the Top 10, though Christopher Nolan's billion-dollar baby The Odyssey is in the #19 slot. And unless a completely unpredictable and unexplainable dearth of Spidey ticket sales is suddenly reported all around the planet, the newest MCU movie could potentially slide up into the #5 spot sooner than you might think.

Check out this math: if we note Spider-Man: Brand New Day's earliest global release date as July 29, and divide its current grosses by the 28 days that have passed since, the movie is averaging a completely bonkers total of over $12.8 million per day.

As such, since it's less than $42 million behind Titanic, Brand New Day could take over that fifth position by the time the weekend gets here. To take it a step further, the movie would only need to earn $7-8 million more to usurp the #3 ranking from the Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2. It's still $700 million behind Avatar, though. I'm not saying that's an impossible feat or anything, but it may take another two or three weeks to get there.

The massive box office success isn't just a huge win for Marvel Studios and Disney. Tom Holland himself worked out a stellar deal for his fourth standalone Spidey movie, earning $20 million up front, with a backend agreement that likely puts his total earnings at north of $100 million, without a capped ceiling for said bonus.

Of course, I don't think anyone will be surprised if Titanic later falls down to #7 on the all-time Top 10 list after the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters in December. If any superhero movie can somehow steal the 2026 box office crown from Peter Parker, it'd be one fronted by Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.

It's a good time to be a Marvel fan, thanks to exciting titles hitting theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order are still reeling from Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which was an insane box office hit. Unfortunately Destin Daniel Cretton's blockbuster did leave some material on the cutting room floor, including Rosario Dawson's deleted scene as Claire Temple. And it turns out that the movie featured another connection to Daredevil that we never saw.

Folks who watched the Netflix Marvel shows are thrilled that characters have returned to the shared universe, such as Daredevil and Punisher. But we've also got some FOMO, thanks to Dawson's Claire Temple nearly having a role in Brand New Day. Over on Twitter, a crew member who designed props for the movie revealed a slick connection to Daredevil that didn't get featured in the theatrical cut. Check it out below:

I LOVE this attention to detail. While Charlie Cox's MCU character doesn't appear in Brand New Day, he was clearly still there in spirit. Because inside Peter Parker's wallet included a business card for Matt Murdock's practice, which is an A+ reference to Cox's cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Even if the business card wasn't actually shown in the new movie, these small details help to make the shared universe feel like a real, interconnected place.

Obviously Doctor Strange's spell during No Way Home's ending resulted in Matt Murdock (and the entire world) forgetting who Peter Parker was. But it's fun that Tom Holland's hero kept the card just in case he needed some legal help from his former lawyer.

I'm still holding out hope that Rosario Dawson's Claire Temple gets to return to the MCU sometime soon. She was the connective tissue between almost all the Marvel Netflix shows, with Claire assisting heroes in Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and The Defenders. And since the actress continues to work with Disney as the live-action Ahsoka in the Star Wars universe, it would make sense for her to pop up in the MCU eventually. Fingers crossed that we don't have to wait much longer... or that we eventually see the deleted Brand New Day scene with her.

Fans are also hoping to see Daredevil and Spider-Man suited up and fighting bad guys in the shared universe. While Matt and Peter interacted, the same can't be said for their superhero alter egos. And since they're both New York City-based heroes, it would make sense if their paths eventually crossed.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still in theaters now, and Avengers: Doomsday will follow suit on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to see if/when Claire Temple re-enters the MCU.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day gave audiences eager for upcoming Marvel movies a lot to chew on, but don't expect its director to tell you what it all means. Destin Daniel Cretton is being cryptic about the secrets of the latest movie, including the significance of Hulk's son getting a sneaky cameo.

If readers totally forgot that Hulk had a son named Skarr, it's totally understandable. Those who skipped out on streaming She-Hulk via Disney+ subscription may not even be aware the character exists, as he hasn't appeared in any MCU project since. That is, until this latest movie, in which he's seen briefly in a picture on Bruce Banner's desk. Cretton was asked about it by The Wrap, and balked at saying anything beyond this:

That's such a cryptic statement that it's nearly impossible to draw any conclusions from it. Is it a nod that Skaar is going to become a part of the story, or is it more that there had to be some acknowledgement of the character with Hulk appearing? It's just a picture, but obviously, everything is done for a reason. (And if the reason was to put the pic in front of enough moviegoers to earn over $2 billion, then it was a job well done.)

Maybe it's just a reminder from Marvel Studios that they haven't forgotten Skaar, and he'll factor into a future adventure involving Hulk and others. With Avengers: Doomsday on the way, I'm sure we'll see a lot of characters in the mix, so I wouldn't be shocked if he's involved in some way, even for a fleeting moment.

Destin Daniel Cretton also wouldn't say much about the post-credits scene in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which hinted that Peter was somewhere in space. Speculation right now suggests that's something that will be addressed in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars, so it wouldn't be wild to guess the Skaar picture is a hint toward that as well.

Ultimately, if it was just a nod to She-Hulk and an acknowledgement of the short-lived Disney+ series, Cretton could have just said that. His being cagey leads me to the conclusion that it is relevant to something on the horizon for Marvel, but what that means I don't know.

I will say I would love it if there was finally advancement on a potential Hulk solo movie happening. Of course, Universal still famously owns the rights to the character, and unless something has changed as of late, he can only appear as a secondary character in Marvel movies. The franchise has done a solid job of giving him a great character arc throughout various movie appearances, but it's still not the same as seeing a big feature.

Now that we have Hulk, She-Hulk, Skaar, and Red Hulk, it feels like the stage is set for a big feature. Why else is Marvel Studios loading up the MCU with Hulks? Someone has to know the answer, but all we know at this time is that we likely aren't getting the answers from Spider-Man: Brand New Day's director.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues its run in theaters, and we're left to wonder what it all means for the future. And here I thought all the big questions left to answer were concerning the arrival of the X-Men!

Tom Holland has never exactly looked out of shape. The guy spent years flipping through Spider-Man movies and somehow found time to play an extremely physical Telemachus in The Odyssey. Still, anyone who took time to see Spider-Man: Brand New Day probably noticed Peter Parker came back looking considerably more built this time around. Now, we have at least one clue about what he does when he needs a workout without sacrificing half his day.

In a viral clip posted to Instagram, Men’s Health caught up with the actor while he was hosting an event for his nonalcoholic beer brand, BERO. He was asked for his go-to workout when he is short on time. His answer was a CrossFit staple called “Cindy.” Here’s how the Spidey actor described it:

Five pull-ups. Ten push-ups. Fifteen squats. Reading those numbers, I briefly suffered from the delusion that I could hang with Spider-Man. Then Holland mentioned his personal best:

Never mind. Twenty-seven rounds works out to 135 pull-ups, 270 push-ups and 405 squats. That is 810 reps in 20 minutes, or roughly one full round every 44 seconds. The classic CrossFit workout is designed as an AMRAP, meaning you complete as many rounds and reps as possible before the 20-minute clock expires.

Suddenly, Peter Parker’s arms in Brand New Day make considerably more sense. Once the blockbuster star’s 27-round record started circulating again, social media did what social media does best: collectively decide that a movie star has issued a challenge he never actually issued.

People have been filming themselves attempting Cindy, and 27 rounds have proven to be a nasty target. The Washington Post reported that the routine started spreading online shortly after Brand New Day opened on July 31, while other outlets described the workout as practically unavoidable across fitness feeds this summer.

Even fitness influencer Skye Mackintosh, known online as Daily Reps Guy, reportedly managed 24 rounds during an attempt. That is an absurd workout by any normal standard and still leaves him three rounds behind Holland. Check it out:

The Uncharted lead does offer a slightly more merciful version. When he is tired, he limits himself to one round at the start of every minute, using whatever time remains before the next minute begins to rest. Twenty rounds still means 600 total reps, so “merciful” is doing some heavy lifting there.

Also, the routine explains why Holland's physique can look muscular without drifting into God-of-Thunder territory. Cindy is built around bodyweight movements performed quickly and repeatedly, which makes plenty of sense for an actor whose superhero spends considerably more time swinging, climbing and flipping than posing with a hammer.

I’m impressed Holland can knock out 27 rounds. I am considerably less impressed by the tiny voice in my head that heard the workout takes only 20 minutes and immediately said, “You could probably try that.”

Fans can still catch Holland and those increasingly noticeable guns on the big screen, because both Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey are still playing in theaters and making plenty of box office noise. Brand New Day has become the highest-grossing release among 2026 movie releases so far, that is, until "Dunesday" later this year. While The Odyssey has been putting up some ridiculous numbers of its own. So, if you need workout motivation, apparently the answer is to watch Tom Holland save New York or sail around ancient Greece with his sleeves doing considerably less work than they used to.

Brand New Day may go down in history as one of the best Spider-Man movies, but once it was simply a work in progress. During the movie’s press tour, Tom Holland spoke about there being some less-than-desirable test screenings during post-production. But it led the movie’s director to need to set something straight about his comments. Let’s get into it.

What Tom Holland Said About Brand New Day Test Screenings

Tom Holland was more involved than ever with Brand New Day (and he reportedly received a huge pay bump, too). And that means he was present during some test screenings – which is when the studio invites people to watch an unfinished cut and provide feedback. First, here’s what Holland told Quotable:

It sounds like the production played around a lot with how to cut the movie after filming wrapped in late 2025. And in one instance, the editorial team apparently decided to completely cater to reactions from the screenings that had happened. Holland said this exercise “totally didn’t work” and reminded the filmmakers that there has to be a line between following feedback and going with their own gut.

How The Director Set The Rumors Straight

Tom Holland’s comments in context really don’t speak ill of Brand New Day. But I’d guess a lot of people read that those early screenings were bad and ran with it. Here’s how director Destin Daniel Cretton addressed his star’s comments:

While some films are made with a specific vision for every shot from start to finish by the filmmakers, Marvel Studios’ movies famously change a lot throughout production. Oftentimes that’s why additional photography happens, too. In the case of Brand New Day, Cretton clarified that the test screenings he was talking about still scored quite high among audiences.

Perhaps from Holland’s perspective, the movie that catered to audiences just was not at all on the same level as other versions. While it may sound like Holland is talking about a whole different take on the movie, his director seems to be saying that it was essentially the same movie, just with edits in different places here and there. As Cretton also added to The Wrap:

Ultimately, Brand New Day's reviews were off-the-charts good once it came out, and the movie has become the highest-grossing release among 2026 movies so far. But Avengers: Doomsday could top it, given early sales projections.

Anyway, Brand New Day is still in theaters if you want to experience the latest Spidey film on the big screen.

Tom Holland has been playing Spider-Man for a decade now, and considering how much money his version of Peter Parker has made for Sony and Marvel, I figured his latest contract would come with one heck of a raise. Still, I was not prepared for this. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has already become a $2 billion monster at the worldwide box office and, apparently, Holland's paycheck is impressively growing right alongside it.

30-year-old Holland received at least $20 million upfront to return for his fourth solo Spider-Man movie, according to TheWrap. That alone doubled the reported $10 million salary he earned for No Way Home. The really wild part is Holland’s backend deal, which sources told the outlet could push his total compensation past $100 million. Even better for him, the bonus is reportedly uncapped.

Per reports, the former West End star turned A-lister earned just $250,000 when he first swung into the MCU for Captain America: Civil War in 2016. His salary increased to $500,000 for Spider-Man: Homecoming, then $4 million for Far From Home and $10 million for No Way Home. His original six-picture agreement expired after that third solo outing, which meant returning for Brand New Day required an entirely new deal.

The Uncharted actor’s giant bonus is tied to Brand New Day’s ridiculous theatrical performance. The movie passed $2 billion worldwide during its third weekend, becoming only the eighth movie ever to cross that mark and the second-fastest to do it behind Avengers: Endgame. Kudos to Holland for not just helping to make an incredible Spidey movie but for also securing the bag in the process.

Since Holland’s backend reportedly has no ceiling, the $100 million figure could keep climbing as Peter Parker continues to sell more and more tickets. This deal is crossing into Robert Downey Jr. territory. It's fair to say the Marvel comparison is Downey, who basically wrote the blueprint for turning a new superhero flick's success into enormous backend paydays.

Downey famously started with $500,000 for 2008’s Iron Man before negotiating increasingly lucrative deals as Tony Stark became the face of the MCU. Reportedly, RDJ's compensation for Iron Man 3 reached roughly $50 million after backend participation, while his later Avengers deals pushed his earnings above $100 million across Infinity War and Endgame. It was previously reported that Downey earned at least $75 million for Infinity War alone, largely thanks to his back-end arrangement.

That is pretty rare company for a young and in-demand actor like Holland to be entering, especially when we are talking about compensation for a single Spider-Man movie. The timing also could not be better for him. Brand New Day is now Sony’s highest-grossing movie ever, while Holland also starred in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which has crossed $1.3 billion globally. The British star is having the kind of year that gives an actor considerably more leverage the next time a studio calls.

As for Marvel and Sony, they certainly seem interested in calling again. According to the outlet's reporting, Holland, Kevin Feige and Sony chairman Tom Rothman have all expressed interest in continuing his Spider-Man's story, though it remains unclear whether his current contract already covers another movie. If another negotiation is required after Brand New Day finishes its run, I suspect those conversations will be very expensive.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently playing in theaters as part of the 2026 movie calendar. Be sure to check your local listings for showtimes.

Coming from the highly secretive and fan-obsessed world of Severance, Tramell Tillman certainly knows how to play the spoiler-free game in interviews, but he’s not always so used to being in the dark on the other side of those conversations. As such, his early experiences when joining the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day sound like he was trying to get into some kind of highly classified government outpost, like Area 51. (Or wait, was that just Venom?)

With Brand New Day already having earned more than $2 billion at the box office, Tillman can now speak more freely about his previously under-wraps role of Department of Damage Control’s unsettlingly calm boss Bill Metzger, Speaking with GQ about landing the role, among other details, Tillman said he was initially excited to be told that Marvel execs wanted to meet with him, but that excitement was temporarily tamped down by a lack of pertinent information. In his words:

That sounds like the most interesting version of a near-stalemate, with Tramell Tillman not so eager to accept an offer for a role he knows nothing about, and director Destin Daniel Cretton & Co. not so eager to divulge any information about a role that Tillman wasn't automatically ready to sign off on. Is it still called ouroboros if you're talking about a spider eating its own legs?

Tillman revealed how he and the director finally reached an agreement when the bare minimum of insight was shared with him. In his words:

I can certainly understand Tillman's hesitance to just dive into a blockbuster role like this without having a clear idea of who he'll be playing. To be sure, I doubt Kevin Feige and Cretton ever had him in mind to play Tombstone or Scorpion or any of the more action-based villains. Not because I don't think he could do it or anything, but because he's so good at oozing menace while doing nothing beyond just standing in an office in dapper clothing. His gravitas was worth the creative team's effort of stringing him along with minor details.

Specifically, this is the character foundation that Tillman started to develop his performance around when agreeing to take the role. As he put it:

Will Bill Metzger show up in any upcoming Marvel movies to spread the Department of Damage Control’s influence out across the rest of the MCU? The only thing that’ll apparently answer that question with efficiency is time, and possibly a lot of it, since he’s not automatically expected to be popping up in Avengers: Doomsday.

Tillman himself, however, is co-starring in one of my more anticipated upcoming 2026 movies of the fall, Bassam Tariq’s crime thriller Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother opposite Mahershala Ali and Giancarlo Esposito. In the meantime, Brand New Day will no doubt continue to crush it at the box office, and I'll be one of many waiting more Severance Season 3 production updates.

Spoilers below for the handful of people who maybe haven’t seen Spider-Man: Brand New Day yet, so be warned!

There’s no question Spider-Man: Brand New Day is one of the most successful movies of all time, with over a billion box-office dollars earned thus far, and many millions more to come. There’s also no question we’re going to see Peter Parker’s Spider-Man again in an Avengers sequel, thanks to that confusing post-credits scene. But the movie did leave me with several questions that I really hope get answers or clarification without before either Secret Wars or Tom Holland’s fifth Spider-Man solo movie hits theaters in 2027 and beyond. My Spidey-Patience is not so powerful.

And I’m not specifically talking about the biggest-picture questions here, like what Peter and Ned’s handshake really meant, and whether or not Doctor Strange’s spell was broken by the power of friendship. They are related, though. Since first watching Brand New Day, my brain has been preoccupied with speculation about the limits of such magical spells, and how it all works within the characters’ own brains.

Where Does MJ Think Her Necklace Came From?

Taken completely at face value, MJ still wearing her black dahlia necklace throughout the entirety of Spider-Man: Brand New Day is an oh-so-sweet sign that her love for Peter is pure enough that not even sorcery can eliminate all signs of it. In that way, it's also possibly the biggest clue early on that Doctor Strange's spell left room for certain loophole-esque situations where Peter's friends still have totems from the years they spent together. But I'm baffled by what their brains are doing to fill in the memory gaps.

Peter gives MJ the necklace in Far From Home, inspired by learning the black dahlia is her favorite flower. The pendant doesn't make it out fully intact, but MJ chooses to continue wearing it for all the adorable thematic reasons, and it's as much a symbol of their bond as Peter and Ned's signature hand-smacks is of theirs. So from a creative perspective, of course she's still wearing it in BND.

But from a more logistical real-world angle, I think it's lowkey terrifying to consider MJ compulsively wearing this necklace on a daily basis without any front-of-mind reasoning for it. Like, if I made a point of wearing the same watch for years on end, only to realize one day that I had zero clue where it came from or when I got it, I miiiight be too freaked out to put it back on. Sure, I can't tell you exactly when and where I bought every T-shirt or pair of pants that I own, but I still have the general blueprint of events up there. But if my favorite accessory only inspired blank spots, I might need a therapist.

When MJ sees her necklace in a mirror, or moves it with her hands, does her brain attempt to flash back to where it came from, only to short-circuit before real memories can appear? Or does Doctor Strange's spell intentionally dull the part of her brain that attempt to make such connections? I really hope there's a slide-show presentation explaining it before any other MCU movies come out.

Is Jean Grey's Telepathy Powerful Enough To Reverse Magic?

One of the ongoing fan theories about Spider-Man: Brand New Day is that Sadie Sink's Jean Grey knocks a few mental dominos loose in MJ and Ned when her telepathic powers bubble out and force zillions of New Yorkers to stay locked in place. I don't really buy into that idea, though, since everyone is affected by the "forget about Peter" spell, and it'd be amazingly convenient for two of his friends to be the only ones to have such adverse affects to Jean's actions. A little too amazingly convenient.

That said, I do think it's entirely possible that the vengeful mutant has (or will have) the ability to perform more distinctive tasks within people's brains. Such as making someone think they're a different person, that they can only eat brown foods, or any other kind of behavioral change that a state hypnotist might also use in an act. But is telepathy (hers or anyone's) powerful enough to reverse a spell crafted by such a magically dominant entity as Doctor Strange?

I almost have to think so at this point, because part of me doesn't want to just buy into the feel-good notion that MJ and Ned's love for Peter alone is enough to shatter such an ironclad enchantment. That's a little too pat and smooth for my tastes.

I guess now I can start pondering whether Doctor Strange's spell will continue to work if he gets killed off in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars. Might as well brew some coffee now, because this could take a while.

Spider-Man has and will always be my favorite superhero. I’ll never forget seeing the first Spidey movie when I was a kid, and I’ve been devotedly following each installment since. While the Sam Raimi trilogy may always be my No. 1 (faults and all), I think the Tom Holland movies have been fantastic. With Brand New Day here, I decided to binge the “Home” trilogy for the first time in one day, and I have some takeaways to talk through.

First off, I still think 2017’s Homecoming is one of the best MCU movies that’s been made. The script is so sharp, and it feels like you’re watching a John Hughes film that also happens to include superheroes. It really nails the awkwardness of being a high schooler in a way no other Spider-Man movie has done before. But, my big problem with rewatching the trilogy happens in its sequel, Far From Home.

The Thing That Doesn’t Hold Up In Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Trilogy

Now, I had totally forgotten until I turned it on, but 2019’s Far From Home was the first MCU movie to come out after Avengers: Endgame and the final installment of The Infinity Saga. It opens with a hilarious high school news video of Betty Brant and Jason Ionelle explaining The Blip – which is when everyone came back five years after The Snap wiped out half the universe.

I proceeded to spend half of Far From Home feeling very confused about what was going on with the students of Midtown High in the fallout of the major universe event. I found it weird that Peter, Ned, MJ along with most of the students from Homecoming just happened to all be part of the Snapped so the plot could move along without a hitch. And yet, there’s this weird thing going on with Remy Hii’s Brad Davis, who aged up five years from a middle-schooler to a high school junior.

I think Far From Home did a decent job of explaining it, and they had a clever way of lore dumping at the top of the movie, but it also had me considering all these existential questions around The Snap and The Blip that I sort of wish the Spider-Man sequel didn’t have. In the moment when we were watching all the MCU movies one-by-one it made sense, but if you decide to skip the movies in between like I did, I think it kind of stunts an otherwise great set of movies.

If you’re thinking “just watch Infinity War and Endgame” before Far From Home, you’re right. I probably should have, but that would have added over five hours to my binge.

The Other Thoughts I Had Watching Them

Now, to put aside my gripes, and share some quick reasons why I liked the “Home” trilogy on my recent rewatch.

• I didn’t totally realize how many suits Tom Holland gets as Spider-Man until now. Like, it’s actually wild how many.
• Happy Hogan is an underrated character in this trilogy. I'm delighted he was part of it.
• Uncle Ben isn’t mentioned once in this Peter Parker’s story. Does he even exist in this version?
• While it feels forced at times, I think it’s really fun to see Tom Holland’s Spider-Man interact with a couple of other MCU characters in each movie. My favorite instance of this is the “suit” moment with Tony Stark in Homecoming.
• It’s still weird to me that they go on a class trip to Italy.
• Peter and MJ are so, so adorable to watch fall in love.
• The “Night Monkey” bit in Far From Home is actually so hilarious to me.
• I hate the Skrull twist during the end credits of Far From Home.
• I wish there was a time jump between Far From Home and No Way Home because they look visibly older, but conceptually I get it. Fine.

And now, we have Brand New Day! I hope it’s the start of another Spider-Man trilogy. You can check out what CinemaBlend thought of the movie as it plays in theaters.

Not just anyone gets to wear Tom Holland’s Spider-Man suit. And yet… How to Train Your Dragon actor Mason Thames got to. How the heck? There’s actually an adorable story behind how it happened.

The 19-year-old actor has been all over the movies lately, playing Hiccup in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movies and starring in The Black Phone films. He was also in the romance Regretting You and actually has two new comedies out this month. It turns out he also got to visit the set of Spider-Man: Brand New Day during production. Here’s what happened in Thames words:

That is pretty "dope." However, the whole experience got cooler when Holland asked Thames if he wanted to try on the Spider-Man costume, as the HTTYD actor recalled:

How did Mason Thames get to go on the set of Brand New Day? We don’t know for sure, but we do know that Spider-Man was filmed in Glasgow, Scotland and England’s Pinewood Studios in the second half of 2025. Thames' How to Train Your Dragon movies were also filmed in England. Perhaps there was overlap? Anyway, getting back to this impromptu costume fitting:

Mason Thames is a “big comic book nerd,” as he told CinemaBlend when we caught up with him at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. His personal favorite comic book characters are DC’s Robin (specifically Dick Grayson) and Marvel’s Spider-Man. Check out what he said to us:

As you can imagine, getting to not only visit a Spider-Man movie set, but also put on the suit? He was geeking out. In the new interview, Patrick Dougall then asked Thames if we’re ever going to see pictures of him in the suit. Here’s what he said:

Honestly, how sweet of Tom Holland to allow Thames to wear the suit. He surely didn’t have to, and it definitely doesn’t seem like the actor was expecting it at all. Mason Thames could certainly pass off as a Peter Parker from another universe, too.

Talk about a flex. Mason Thames can say he’s actually worn the Spider-Man suit forever and always. While the actor hasn’t had the opportunity to play a superhero, he’s got plenty of time to earn a role of his own either in the MCU or DC Universe. My vote would definitely be to see the actor in his favorite superhero, Robin.

You can see Mason Thames in the Green Day comedy, Nimrods, this weekend. Then, his next film, Idiots, comes out later this month on August 28. Thames also has How to Train Your Dragon 2 on the 2027 movie schedule, and it will hit theaters on June 11. Hopefully, he’ll get a supersuit of his own one day, too!

SPOILERS are ahead for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

I saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day a few days ago, and it’s been sticking with me like the webs that (now) come straight from the wrists of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. It has all the things I’d want out of a Spider-Man movie, like cool team-ups and great surprises. But, there’s also a warmth to it I wasn’t necessarily expecting to feel four Spidey films in. Peter’s storyline has also led to some online chatter about how it connects to living with autism.

Now, Peter Parker is not canonically thought of as a character on the autism spectrum. But the fact that enough people are having similar reactions to Brand New Day certainly makes it worthy of discussion. Let’s get into it.

People Are Making Brand New Day Connections To Autism

Brand New Day has already soared to become the highest-grossing of 2026 movie releases with over $1 billion in box office returns in addition to being highly acclaimed. So, a lot of people have seen it and are talking about it. Check out this video about the connections one person made between Peter Parker and what it’s like to be in the autism community:

There’s quite a few things to break down here. Azia Celestino, whose own brother has autism, mentions three moments in Brand New Day that made her think Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is an autism icon. For one, Peter Parker’s sudden mutation of his powers gives him sensory overload, which is often thought of as a common symptom of autism. Peter finds himself dealing with this, but it’s within the context of his arachnid hormones going through some changes.

She also brings up the subject of “masking”, which is when someone with autism hides their natural traits to appear non-autistic. Again, Peter Parker is hiding his identity for a different reason, but it’s an interesting connection. Lastly, she brings up the scene between Aunt May and Jean Grey, where she says the following to the future X-Men character:

Aunt May may be talking about what it’s like to have special powers in the context of the movie, but how sweet is it that it could be read as a message to people with autism? I also saw this video regarding the same topic:

Autism is something that millions of people live with everyday, and there’s still a small amount of movies and TV shows that tackle how it really feels. I love knowing that the community is connecting to Spider-Man in the context of Brand New Day.

How The Autism Community Is Reacting

The comments to these videos really speak volumes, too. Check out what people are saying:

• “omg! I felt so deeply understood by this movie, especially during that overload scene I told my brother ‘this is essentially what feels like to be autistic!’ 😂🙌 like the whole movie was very coded and it also referred to the struggle of masking and unmasking in certain aspects. A VERY GREAT REPRESENTATION🔥🙌” - @angelic_depression
• “The sensory overload scenes in the new film are imo extremely accurate to how it feels for a ND person.” - @accccroowww
• “In the scene where Peter is talking to Aunt May and then Peter talking to Jean the message was something like”people who love you love you not because you’re special but because you’re you” That’s the reason why we mask because we don’t think we’re lovable unmasked. But I believe that people who love you will love you not despite your ND but because that’s what makes you you. For the first time ever I felt like I got a big comforting warm hug from a friend watching this movie like “you’re going to be okay”😢” - @shweta_nav1
• "It hit so hard when Jean was talking about how special people don’t get to have real connections or friends or family. They’re just alone. I cried because I see that with my son who loves people but they ignore him. Even some of his close family members. Just because he can’t verbalize a reciprocal conversation." - @sandisueperry
• "My son has autism and when I watched the movie all I could think was of him and was just crying for the rest of the movie ❤️." - @tutsieq

While Spider-Man may not have autism specifically in the movie, it’s clearly making an impact on the community and their support systems. The late Stan Lee talked in the past about why Spider-Man is “easy for fans to relate to” and I love that it continues perhaps in a new way with Brand New Day.

The emotional depth of the new Spider-Man flick is just one of many reasons why I really enjoyed Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and I can’t wait to see what themes fans see in the upcoming Marvel movies to come.

Spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order now find that some franchises are fan favorites. Chief among them are the Spider-Man movies, and fans were recently treated to the record-breaking release of Brand New Day. Folks have really responded to Sadie Sink's debut as Jean Grey, although there's an online debate about whether or not she's a murderer in the film. And after one of the writers weighed in, the discourse has gotten even hotter. Let's break it all down.

Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox finally opened the door for the X-Men to join the MCU, and they've been slowly peppered in through various projects on the big screen or streaming with a Disney+ subscription. And while it was thrilling that we've got a new Jean Grey, her actions in the first half of the movie have some fans upset that she was seemingly a killer. Let's break it all down.

What Brand New Day's Writer Said About Jean

Throughout most of Brand New Day, Jean is shown possessing people's bodies with her telepathic abilities. She goes to extreme lengths while on the search for her sister Sara, including making MJ jump off a building. But the most debated moment is when she made a man back into traffic, resulting in him getting hit hard by a taxi. It looked like he wouldn't survive that collision, but it wasn't confirmed or denied whether he actually died.

During an interview with THR, writer Erik Sommers addressed Jean's villainous actions throughout the new Spider-Man movie. Regarding whether or not she actually killed anyone, he responded with:

There you have. it. While the actual contents of Brand New Day left this question ambiguous, the writer maintains that Sadie Sink's character didn't actually kill anyone throughout the movie's 145-minute runtime. Of course, this hasn't stopped fans from debating the issue online. In fact, it might have added fuel to the fire of the Jean discourse.

Marvel Fans Have Been Debating Whether She's A Killer Or Not

While Sommers maintains that "technically" Jean isn't responsible for any deaths in Brand New Day, there are a ton of fans who disagree. The guy who got hit by a cab is the biggest reason why, but other folks think that she must have killed at least a few people when freezing half of the city in the movie's third act. You can see some popular tweets about the subject below:

• Jean Grey in Spider-Man Brand New Day 1000% killed that one dude hit by a car, and likely more.
• I feel like the issue is more on what the writers chose to do and the lack of consequences for it. They made a deliberate choice to have Jean grey kill people and then didn’t address it.
• Don't believe you lying eyes people. Sorry, we saw what Jean did. The dude was fucking pancaked by the taxi, ambiguous as to other deaths.
• jean grey is mass murderer
• ok so is literally every other hero in the mcu. what now?

Despite the movie coming out weeks ago, fans are still debating Brand New Day's contents. Some are sure that Jean killed people in the movie, while others maintain that even if she did it's not a deal-breaker for the future X-Men. After all, The Avengers don't have the strict no-kill rule of DC heroes like Batman and Superman. We've seen heroes like Iron Man and Wanda take human lives before, either on purpose or accidentally. So maybe Jean killing a few people isn't as big of a deal as some folks are making it out to be.

We'll just have to wait for whenever Jean returns in upcoming Marvel movies, and if her actions in New York are addressed. An X-Men movie is coming, with Brand New Day's ending hinting that she was heading upstate where Xavier's mansion is typically located.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. The next MCU blockbuster will be Avengers: Doomsday on December 18th. We'll just have to wait and see if Peter Parker ends up having a role.

Buying wrap gifts for an entire movie crew seems like a pretty thoughtful gesture. Unfortunately for Tom Holland, there is apparently a very important step between picking out the gift and handing it to several hundred people: Make sure you check the sizing. The Spider-Man: Brand New Day lead just explained why the entire crew trash-talked his gift right to his face.

While appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers to promote Brand New Day, Holland revealed that after his 2026 movie release wrapped, he decided to buy personalized Spidey beanies for the movie’s crew. Meyers asked the natural follow-up: “Was it well received?” Well, not exactly. The actor explained:

Calling Casali “legendary” is not just Holland being nice, either. The production sound mixer won an Academy Award as part of the sound mixing team behind Bohemian Rhapsody in 2019. However, I'd assume none of that experience prepared him for a tiny Spider-Man hat trying to crush his skull.

The best part is that Casali apparently assumed the studio had bought the gifts. So he walked straight up to Holland and started complaining about how cheap Sony had been. The former West End performer continued:

In Casali’s defense, I probably would not have guessed the actor playing Spider-Man personally ordered a box of child-sized beanies either. Holland clearly found the whole thing hilarious rather than taking offense. You have to check out the full interview in the video below.

It also sounds exactly like the kind of mistake that becomes part of a new superhero movie crew’s mythology long after production wraps. Forget the giant action sequences and complicated stunt work. Somewhere there are Spider-Man crew members who will forever remember the day Peter Parker handed them hats built for 8-year-olds.

Brand New Day has worked out considerably better than The Odyssey actor’s gift order. The fourth solo Spider-Man movie has become a massive theatrical hit since arriving on July 31, with its worldwide haul already climbing well past $1 billion.

Honestly, Holland can probably afford to double-check the hat sizes next time. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has already crossed $1.6 billion worldwide, while The Odyssey has pushed past $1 billion as well. Those two monster releases have the 30-year-old closing in on the all-time box office leaderboard, where Zoe Saldaña and Scarlett Johansson currently sit at the top.

If Brand New Day keeps swinging, the Marvel movie veteran could soon move past names like Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Pratt, putting him within striking distance of Saldaña and Johansson. Tiny hats aside, it has been a pretty good summer to be Tom Holland.

All of the Spidey flicks, past and present, are streaming with a Disney+ subscription.

I’ve been watching Spider-Man movies my whole life, and one thing I’ve always loved about them is how they’ve never been without romance. What can I say, Peter Parker is a lover boy, and I eat it up every time. But, Brand New Day took things in a completely new direction with the MJ storyline this time around, and I’m still not over it.

Peter Parker And MJ’s Story In Brand New Day Is Rough

After what happened in No Way Home, I knew going into it that Peter Parker was going to be without his best bud Ned and girlfriend MJ, but it really went a few steps further than I thought it would. For one, in the movie we follow Peter as he goes years without anyone from his past. (Oof, the way I thought it was going to reverse somehow before their second semester).

When Peter finally collides with MJ and Ned again, they truly have no idea who he is. Sure, there’s a brief note between the two of them that there’s something they are missing, but they are completely clueless. When MJ reads the letter and finds out what’s been going on, my heart broke for Spidey when he told her he loved her, and there was not only no reciprocation behind those eyes, but she straight up rejected him. As sad as it is, I also need to praise it.

But, I Think It Deserves Its Flowers

Peter Parker’s decision not to tell Ned and MJ completely made sense to me. While I feel like the actions of some past Peter Parkers have felt not only flawed, but just unnecessary, Brand New Day feels different.

After the death of Aunt May in No Way Home, I really understood why he would isolate himself and lean into becoming the best Spider-Man he could be. Of course, he wanted to have them back, but “with great power comes great responsibility.” In the scene where MJ reads the letter and you feel her sadness about a piece of her life being kept from her, I see why she’s frustrated, but I’m actually happy the movie didn’t bring their romance back right away.

Peter has had messy relationships before, and sure, it would have brought a huge smile to my face to see these two together again. But, I’m living for the slow burn the franchise is going for instead. Instead, the hopeful gratification we got was between Peter and Ned, and it was perfect.

Peter and Ned have known each other much longer than Peter and MJ have, and have seemingly been doing that best friend handshake most of their lives. It was the perfect way to hint at a new chapter where Peter will reestablish his relationships, but without rushing the Peter and MJ romance.

We know that Spider-Man will return among upcoming Marvel movies, so why not give these two some time to fall in love again? I’m personally even hoping that Spider-Man meets one of his other famous love interests like Gwen Stacy or Black Cat before MJ is his endgame. Yearning is like the No. 1 rule of a good romance, and I’m so happy Brand New Day got it.

Tom Holland was already one of the biggest box office stars on the planet before the 2026 movie calendar started. Playing Spider-Man in the MCU tends to have that effect. But having Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrive within two weeks of each other has sent the actor’s career numbers into another stratosphere. And he now has a legitimate shot at climbing near Zoe Saldaña and Scarlett Johansson at the very top of Hollywood’s box office rankings.

The numbers are still changing, especially because Brand New Day is nowhere near finished with its theatrical run. The latest data from The Numbers puts the fourth Holland-led Spider-Man movie at $1.689 billion worldwide, while The Odyssey, in which he plays Telemachus, has reached $1.138 billion. Together, his two 2026 movies have already generated more than $2.8 billion worldwide.

There are several ways to calculate an actor’s career box office, depending on whether cameos and supporting appearances are included. Using the commonly cited ranking based on leading and lead ensemble roles, Holland sat at No. 6 with roughly $13.66 billion worldwide as of Aug. 8. Ahead of him were Robert Downey Jr. at $14.32 billion, Samuel L. Jackson at $14.61 billion and Chris Pratt at $15.16 billion. Then you get to the two women currently sitting at the summit.

For a brief moment in 2025, ScarJo was Hollywood’s highest-grossing lead actor after Jurassic World Rebirth added another blockbuster to a résumé already stuffed with MCU movies. Zoe Saldaña passed her in January after Avatar: Fire and Ash, bringing her lead-role total to about $15.47 billion, just ahead of Johansson’s roughly $15.40 billion.

Holland is not there yet. However, that Aug. 8 total is already aging quickly while both of his current movies continue selling tickets. The real wild card is Brand New Day. The latest Marvel movie reached $1.67 billion globally after only 10 days, including more than $1 billion overseas, and became 2026’s highest-grossing movie after just one week.

If that run keeps going, the Uncharted actor has a path past Downey, Jackson and eventually Pratt. Third place would leave only Saldaña and Johansson ahead of him on the lead-role chart. Considering he is just 30 years old, that is a pretty ridiculous neighborhood to already be approaching.

It also shows how quickly two movies can change the math. Holland’s previous box office muscle came largely from Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and his first three Spider-Man movies, including No Way Home, which earned $1.92 billion worldwide. Now he has two more billion-dollar titles arriving in the same summer. And if the post-credits scene from Brand New Day is really setting up an appearance in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars, Holland could have another massive movie adding to that total before the year is out.

Whether the Devil All the Time actor actually catches Pratt, Johansson or Saldaña will depend on where Brand New Day finally lands, and The Odyssey still has money left to make as well. For now, though, Peter Parker is swinging up the leaderboard awfully fast.

Fans can currently catch Holland in both The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day in theaters.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a huge place, with tons of content in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order were recently treated to Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which broke box office records. The movie had a thrilling ensemble of characters, but it turns out Rosario Dawson shot a scrapped scene, reprising her role as Claire Temple on the big screen for the first time. The actress recently broke her silence about being cut from the blockbuster, but she also had a hopeful message.

The trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day featured Jon Bernthal's Punisher, marking the first time he played Frank Castle in a movie. But folks who watched the Netflix Marvel shows would have loved to see Claire Temple appear in her cut scene. While appearing at GalaxyCon (via Twitter), the Ashoka star revealed how she found out her sene was dropped, offering:

Talk about a bummer. While Dawson has a wildly successful career in TV and film, she was hyped about sharing her Spider-Man role with her family... especially her grandson. Unfortunately Claire's sequence was cut from Brand New Day's theatrical cut. Fingers crossed that we'll be able to see the deleted scene sometime in the future.

Before Disney+ started releasing live-action Marvel shows, there was a whole universe of titles available for those with a Netflix subscription. Dawson's Claire Temple served as the Nick Fury of those shows, tying the titles together while appearing in Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and The Defenders. It would have been great to see her back in Brand New Day, but that didn't happen. At the same convention appearance she spoke more about this by saying:

While it's a bummer that she was cut rom Brand New Day, it sounds like the Ahsoka actress is still ready to reprise her role as Claire in upcoming Marvel movies or TV shows. She continues to have a good relationship with Disney, so it would make sense for her to appear eventually. Fingers crossed it happens sooner rather than later.

As someone who watched the Netflix Marvel shows religiously, it's been thrilling to see a number of characters return. Charlie Cox cameoed as Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk and Echo before starring in both seasons of Born Again. Jon Bernthal's Punisher appeared in the latter as well, before reprising his role in One Last Kill and Brand New Day. Hopefully Claire Temple is the next one to get this treatment.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. Folks can re-watch Rosario Dawson's tenure in the MCU over on Disney+ now.

If you went into Spider-Man: Brand New Day hoping for a lot of Ned, your viewing experience was probably a mixed bag. On the one hand, Ned is less plot-relevant to the new movie than arguably any of the others. So, he’s just around a lot less, at least in key moments. On the other hand, because he’s less plot-relevant, Brand New Day lets him get back to being the change-of-pace comedic relief we saw in the first movie, which is a big win for the character.

It’s also a big win for me. I’ve been screaming into all five boroughs since the second movie that Marvel would get more out of Ned if they showed him less. MCU superfans have looked at me like I’ve been some mean-spirited hater, but Brand New Day has me feeling vindicated. Ned is at his best as soon as you start missing him and he suddenly pops in with some dumb, lovable comment. He’s not at his best when he’s in half the scenes or pretending to be the Sorcerer Supreme.

The conventional wisdom ahead of any franchise sequel is to figure out a way to give the standout side characters more screen time. After all, if they were one of the best parts of the first movie, the audience must want more, right? Well, the harsh truth is some characters work way better in small doses. They’re meant to serve as a contrast to the A-plot, not get bolted onto the A-plot.

For Ned, I think it’s a problem of screentime and narrative focus more than anything else. The creative forces behind these movies are not going to give anyone in the universe except Peter Parker enough time to go through a proper emotional arc, with a minor exception for the villains (especially when launching new franchises). As great as the supporting characters are, they are all ultimately there to quite specifically impact Peter Parker’s emotional journey. They are there to help him evolve, not the other way around.

Jacob Batalon is a skilled enough actor. He’s succeeded whenever he’s been called on to do more in the Ned role, but the way he serves the franchise best isn’t by having powers or supporting fight scenes. It’s by being Spider-Man’s hapless and loyal friend. It’s by easing the tension with a well-timed joke or being part of a goofy sequence to let the audience exhale from more serious drama.

We’re going to get more Spider-Man movies after this. The positive word of mouth, the insane box office, and all the euphoric buzz around this movie are clear indicators that we’re just getting started. I have no idea what story the team is going to adapt next, but it should start with everyone involved asking where they want to take Peter Parker next. They should figure out the path they want to put him on, and then once they map that out, they can ask how Ned and MJ and others in the universe fit in, or if they even fit in at all.

Ned is one of the funniest MCU supporting characters we’ve ever gotten, right up there with Luis, Darcy Lewis and Korg. He makes me smile whenever he’s on the screen, but that doesn’t mean we should see him more often. It means we should save him for the moments that feel right. Brand New Day gets that, and I hope the next movie does too.

Spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

It's an exciting time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks to Spider-Man: Brand New Day's record-breaking release and the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: Doomsday on the way. Fan are still reeling from Brand New Day's ending, and remain invested in the characters played by Tom Holland and Zendaya. Although the latter revealed one big way she would have changed the blockbuster.

Folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order know that the Spider-Man movies are fan favorites. I mean, just look at how much money Brand New Day continues to make at the box office. Over on Capital's TikTok, the Euphoria icon got real about how she would have handled Peter's predicament with MJ and the letter. In her words:

Same, though. As we learned in Destin Daniel Cretton's blockbuster, Peter had been living a lonely and solitary life in the four years since Doctor Strange's spell deleted the world's memories of him during No Way Home's ending. For all that time he's kept the letter he wrote to MJ, explaining their history and her memory loss. But he kept stopping himself from delivering it, with Zendaya's character instead discovering it while being kept under Punisher's protection.

Clearly the Emmy-winning actress wouldn't have done the same if she was in Spider-Man's position. Instead she would have cut to the chase and delivered the letter. And after seeing what a bad place Peter was in without his loved ones, I can't say I blame her.

While I loved MJ's memory storyline more than Gamora's resurrection in Guardians of the Galaxy, I definitely understand Zendaya's perspective. And while MJ eventually read the letter, Brand New Day ended with her still not having any feelings or memories of Peter. But the same might not be true for Ned, as the movie's final moments saw muscle memory kick in when he and Peter did their signature hand shake. Does this mean Doctor Strange's spell isn't permanent after all? Only time will tell.

There are countless questions about the future of the Spider-Man franchise, as well as Tom Holland's title character. Brand New Day's credits scene seemed to tease Spidey in Secret Wars, although it's unclear if that's going to be Holland or the Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield version of the character.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. Avengers: Doomsday will follow suit on December 18th, so we'll have to see if there are any connections to Peter Parker this winter.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has hit the 2026 movie schedule in a big way, as Tom Holland’s superhero franchise has struck box office gold yet again. Not only that, but the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed Spidey flick is receiving positive reviews as well. Considering all of this success, it’s wild to think that several years ago, it appeared that Marvel Studios and Sony would end their licensing agreement keeping the wall-crawler in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, Holland is reflecting on what that was all like from his vantage point.

Even now, I can still vividly remember what the atmosphere was like around August 2019, when Sony and the Disney-owned Marvel couldn’t reach a new Spider-Man deal. Multitudes of fans took to social media to express their surprise and displeasure with the development, and I was among those shocked. In the years that followed, I wondered how Holland felt during that time and, during a recent interview, he admitted he didn’t feel “down.” Yet he apparently felt something else entirely:

As the Odyssey star explained to Josh Horowitz of the Happy Sad Confused podcast (as seen on YouTube), he wasn’t so much sad as he was confused, given the success of the inter-studio collaboration at that time. During that time, Sony admitted to being “disappointed” that it couldn’t come to terms with Marvel on an extension. Spider-Man’s potential departure also drew responses from a myriad of creatives, including some involved with the MCU.

The situation turned around in a big way, though in September 2019, as both Disney and Sony restarted negotiations after the fan outcry (and drunken phone call Holland made to Bob Iger). A deal was eventually reached, and Holland shared his take on how everything eventually fell into place:

Given the success of 2021’s No Way Home and this latest Spider-Man movie, I’d like to think both parties are glad with how everything turned out. It’s still interesting to think about what might’ve happened with Holland’s Peter Parker had a new deal not been reached. Several years back, the British actor claimed Sony had a “wonderful” idea to ease the character out of the MCU. Whether that would’ve included appearances in the Spidey-adjacent spinoffs is unclear.

It’s probably best that we don’t dabble in what ifs, though (like Uatu the Watcher has a habit of doing). That’s because, today, we’re fortunate to have a thriving film franchise centered on the web-slinger, and Tom Holland only continues to prove why he’s the perfect actor for the lead role. I’ll forever breathe a sigh of relief that Marvel and Sony re-upped their deal years ago. Additionally, I hope that whenever Holland’s Peter Parker does stop appearing in the MCU, it’ll be of the star’s own volition.

Check out Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is playing in theaters nationwide now. Also, check out the first three films in the saga by streaming them with a Disney+ subscription.

Spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day are ahead.

Eman Esfandi has officially entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the Ahsoka actor would like everyone to get one thing straight about his mysterious Spider-Man: Brand New Day character. He is not, has never been, and will never be Paul. And judging by the forcefulness of his denial, please do not put that evil on him. Wait. Who's Paul?

Who is this Paul Guy?

In the 2026 movie calendar release, Esfandi plays MJ’s new boyfriend, though the movie’s credits coyly identify him only as “The Boyfriend.” That naturally sent longtime Spider-Man readers searching for his real identity, and speculation quickly landed on Paul Rabin, a relatively recent Marvel Comics character with the distinction of being deeply, deeply unpopular among a sizable portion of Peter Parker and Mary Jane fans.

Esfandi apparently saw those theories, and he is deeply offended that folks think he's Paul. The actor responded on X (Twitter) with the sort of denial normally reserved for criminal allegations, and you can see it for yourself below.

The “MTFBWY” stands for “May the Force be with you,” a fitting sign-off from the actor who plays Ezra Bridger on Ahsoka. But who in the heck is Paul, and why do fans hate him so badly? Let’s break it down.

What’s this Paul Guy’s Deal?

If you only know the webhead from the Spider-Man franchise of movies, the intensity of the reaction probably needs some explanation.

Paul Rabin entered Peter and Mary Jane’s lives during Zeb Wells’ run on The Amazing Spider-Man. After MJ became stranded in an alternate dimension, four years passed for her while Peter desperately tried to get back. During that time, she and Paul found two children, raised them together and eventually became a couple. When Peter finally rescued everyone, MJ stayed with Paul. The children were later revealed to be magical constructs. Yes, Spider-Man comics can get complicated.

Paul himself is not secretly some mustache-twirling supervillain. The problem for many readers has always been what he represents: another enormous roadblock between Peter and MJ, one of Marvel’s longest-running romantic pairings.

So when Brand New Day introduced Esfandi as MJ’s new boyfriend and then refused to give the character a name, you can probably see how the conspiracy board assembled. Reports that some open-caption screenings identified the boyfriend as “Paul” only poured gasoline on it, although the film’s actual credits stick with “The Boyfriend.”

What Fans Are Saying About The Paul Business

Naturally, Esfandi’s clarification did not settle anything. If anything, it gave Spider-Man fans a fresh excuse to turn “The Boyfriend” into its own running joke, while others immediately decided that denying he is Paul is exactly what Paul would do. Here are some of the standout replies:

• @VmothN99: “Thank you for playing the perfect role as John Boyfriend. Loved it when you said ‘It’s Boyfriend time’ and then proceeded to Boyfriend all over the place”
• @RedPandaVeth: “You’re clearly The Boyfriend. It said so in the credits.”
• @Q0Y00m: “That’s what Paul would say tbh”
• @herelies_imran: “Jokes on you we all know you’re playing John Boyfriend!”
• @RhuaridhK: “I knew Eman would never willingly take the role of the most evil Spidey rogue that's my king right there”
• @kool_kenny1: “Harry Osborn then… I can see it.”
• @ikindaplaydrums: “Yeah cuz you’re HARRY OSBORN”

That Harry Osborn theory is already getting some traction, because Marvel fans are apparently constitutionally incapable of letting a mysterious character simply be some guy. Esfandi may have cleared his name of the Paul Rabin allegations, but in doing so, he opened the door to an entirely new round of guessing about who “The Boyfriend” really is.

Honestly, I don’t hate the idea of him playing a new take on Peter Parker’s longtime frenemy in upcoming MCU installments. Though I still think Ned becoming Hobgoblin would be the cooler way to riff on the Osborn/Goblin side of Spider-Man lore.

For now, fans are floating everyone from Harry Osborn to Boomerang and Tarantula, though none of those theories has much evidence behind it, and Marvel has confirmed absolutely nothing. The studio could also be doing something far less complicated and simply letting MJ date a normal person named John Boyfriend. But for Esfandi’s sake, though, apparently just don’t call him Paul.

Fans can catch Spider-Man: Brand New Day in theaters now. And if you want to work your way through the Marvel movies in order, all you need is a Disney+ subscription.