Jonah Naplan   July 30, 2026

There are so many cool things about “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” the latest entry in the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe, which finally responded to fan fatigue by releasing one hundred new projects a year instead of two hundred. The tragedy, however—and, indeed, this franchise has suffered many—is that despite presenting their most beloved character of all in a street-level New York City adventure, their ambitions and extraneous foresight have once again trumped the individuality of this project, making it a clear-cut piece of the puzzle—a function of the larger machine—rather than a solo outing allowed to exist on its own terms. It’s the fault of none of the talent, neither in front of nor behind the camera, as they all operate at the behest of the mega-corporation that’s been emblazoned upon our screens for nearly 20 years, so it’s a shame that a movie so fundamentally about personal singularity feels so strongly like a part of a giant whole.

After Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) sacrifice at the climax of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” that made the whole world forget about his web-slinging alter ego, including his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and girlfriend MJ (Zendaya), “Brand New Day” picks up approximately four years later, where our friendly neighborhood superhero has settled into his anonymity, only working with one police detective (Liza Colón-Zayas) to keep NYC crime at bay, and keeping tabs on his friends through social media. It’s a solitary existence, but not a very satisfying one. The opening montage is a highlight as it establishes the mood of “Brand New Day,” while giving us some of the best Spidey action yet, zigzagging around daily opponents like Scorpion (Michael Mando) and Tombstone (Krondon). This new equilibrium, however, all comes crashing down when an evil new entity emerges that can jump from body to body, but can’t quite infiltrate this hero’s head. Without spoiling anything, it’s all linked to one Big Bad who’s after something being held in the Damage Control headquarters, which a cool and confident Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman of “Succession”) assures Spidey is well-fortified.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Just Mercy”), and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, “Brand New Day” for sure gets one thing right that so many Marvel projects before it have failed at. From the start, it finds the perfect blend of comedy and melodrama, largely through the character of Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal, an irreverent delight), who gets ushered into the movie after his personal escapade in the recent Disney+ special “The Punisher: One Last Kill.” If “Brand New Day” ever threatens to be too bleak and mopey, the scene-stealing Bernthal helps to balance the tone, but certainly not so much that “Brand New Day” ever laughs itself to death like the overly silly “Thor: Love and Thunder” or “The Marvels.”

The unlikely rapport between Holland and Bernthal is the centerpiece of the film, especially as Cretton begins to examine identity and what it means to be a hero, and how each character learns to respond to those questions. Unlike the other Spidey adventures, “Brand New Day” is no longer about a high schooler, but a man going about his life unnoticed, almost like a ghost. Similar to “Homecoming,” and the other movies, though, Peter’s anonymity is sacred, and his refusal to remove the mask is the film’s most successful running gag (cue a hilariously deprecating cameo).

All these overarching themes, however, only add to the thought that “Brand New Day” is just doing too much for its own good. It’s LONG. I felt every second of its 145-minute runtime, not because the whole thing is a bore, but because every time I thought it was wrapping up, I was reminded of another loose end—another plotline—that it still had yet to resolve. There’s the ongoing relationship between Peter and Frank, but there’s also the arcs of all the different adversaries (both obvious and to-be-revealed ones), Peter’s constant struggle to reconnect with his old pals, the maintenance of a volatile new mutation in his DNA (which makes for a few stand-out sequences straight out of Maguire’s first “Spider-Man” whereby Peter is startled by his new abilities), a major identity crisis, the help he calls on from Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and, of course, the mammoth obligation to set up everything that’s soon to come for Marvel, from “Doomsday” to beyond.

If projects like “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” did a stellar job of being self-contained adventures, “Brand New Day” is particularly disappointing because it keeps getting distracted by what may be lurking on the horizon. The consequence is that it loses care for what’s happening right now, which sets the example for the viewer to do the same. Despite boasting some of the best Spidey action yet (including a ravishing final fight that includes the lethal ninja-assassin group The Hand), it’s difficult to dig into what this movie has to say on an emotional level. It’s not Cretton’s fault; he showed real chops at tugging on our heartstrings with the poignant and masterful “Short Term 12,” which he wrote as well as directed. Rather, what likely happened, as has been the case with so many other directors in his position like Sam Raimi, Chloé Zhao, and even Ryan Coogler, is that the expectations for the franchise undermined what could have been an incredibly meaningful solo adventure for a superhero who has always grounded the MCU in the midst of endless intergalactic outings and universe (and multiverse)-shattering installments.

Perhaps in spite of this, though, Holland turns in his best performance as Peter Parker to date, cementing himself as a top contender for the greatest to ever don the mask. He’s fully believable as a vulnerable college student in one moment, and the brave hero in another as he learns to find the nuances between both identities. Indeed, the title “Brand New Day” refers to what most people never get to have, but that Peter embraces with poise: a fresh start. Holland’s greatest feat is the effortless way he’s able to navigate such ambiguity, all while maintaining electric chemistry with everyone in the cast. And it might have stood out as one of the best comic book movie performances of the last few years if every line he said didn’t feel mechanically geared towards advancing the plot and turning a profit. We know that no one important will ever actually get killed off, which automatically weakens the stakes as well as our emotional investment.

Unlike “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” the latest Spidey adventure just isn’t content with staying in one lane. Though it was probably about time that these movies finally went “bigger,” this one can’t quite seem to manage everything it wants to accomplish in an engaging way. Even still, after a recent string of blockbusters so scared of overcomplicating themselves for audiences, I suppose it’s a blessing that my #1 note for “Brand New Day” is not to “go bigger,” but to rein it in.

Now playing in theaters.