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Spider-Man: Brand New Day Rumors That Turned Out To Be Totally False
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Rumors That Turned Out To Be Totally False
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Subtitles (342)
0:00
Rumors abound before the release of any
0:02
Marvel movie, but [music] there was a
0:03
spectacular number of them for
0:05
Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Some
0:06
outlandish reports turned out to be
0:08
true, but a whole lot more were wildly,
0:10
shockingly off. Warning, spoilers ahead.
0:14
Marvel and Sony brought some of these
0:15
wild rumors on themselves. By not
0:17
actually revealing who Sadesc was
0:19
playing in the movie until its release,
0:20
they pretty much invited speculation to
0:22
run rampant. The studios announced that
0:24
Sink had been cast all the way back in
0:26
March 2025. So, people had over a year
0:28
to dig through every fan wiki on Earth
0:30
to come up with [music] theories.
0:31
>> I've known for so long, and I've kept it
0:34
a secret.
0:35
>> One of the persistent rumors was the
0:37
character actually turned out to be, Gan
0:39
Gray of the X-Men. But there was a long
0:41
list of other options that got traction.
0:43
Because Sink's a redhead, and also
0:44
because this multiverse thing is still
0:46
going on, lots of folks believed she was
0:48
playing an alternate universe [music]
0:49
version of Mary Jane Watson. Others
0:51
figured she'd be Peter Parker's old
0:52
flame, Gwen Stacy, who famously died in
0:54
the comics all the way back in 1973. An
0:57
alternate universe version of Gwen is in
0:59
the Spider-Verse movies, so why not
1:00
here? There were plenty of other
1:02
theories Sink would be playing a
1:03
different version of Spiderwoman or
1:04
Spider-girl. In particular, the name
1:06
Mayday Parker popped up quite a bit.
1:08
That takes some messing around with time
1:09
travel and/or interdimensional shifting,
1:11
though. [music] In the comics, Mayday is
1:13
an alternate universe version of Peter's
1:15
daughter, who became Spidergirl. There
1:17
was also [music] a version of Spidergirl
1:18
from the Ultimate Marvel universe who
1:20
was a clone of Peter. We even got webbed
1:22
into believing that was Sink's [music]
1:23
character for a minute. Just sounded too
1:25
weird not to be true. But the wildest
1:27
pull from all the potential roles for
1:29
Sink is Shathra. Who's Shathra, you ask?
1:31
Why, she's a toemic wasp goddess who
1:34
sometimes terrorizes Spidey and his
1:35
Spider-Verse pals. That one was also
1:37
compelling being so wildly specific in
1:39
left field. One of the most persistent
1:41
rumor slingers on X, Daniel RPK, said he
1:44
thought the Shathra rumor was an
1:45
intentional misdirect leak from Marvel
1:47
to [music] throw fans off the scent of
1:48
Gan Gray. The reveal in the first Brand
1:51
New Day trailer that Peter [music]
1:52
Parker was going through some kind of
1:53
genetic mutation that was altering his
1:55
body immediately got fans thinking of
1:57
the [music] comic story, The Other. That
1:58
story finds Peter going through dizzy
2:00
spells and having weird dreams, which
2:02
turn [music] out to be the result of a
2:03
radiation-driven disease.
2:05
>> What is happening to me? After Spidey
2:09
takes a serious beating from the villain
2:10
Morlin, Peter [music] appears to die.
2:12
But he's then reborn, shedding his skin
2:14
and emerging with new powers that make
2:16
him even more like a spider. [music]
2:18
That's one reason fans seem to believe
2:19
Spider-Man would kick the bucket in
2:21
Brand New Day. If he died in the movie,
2:23
as he did in the other, that means
2:24
[music] he'd come back even stronger
2:26
after a sort of cocoon process, which
2:28
kind of happens without the death part.
2:30
Public statements from star Tom Holland,
2:32
meanwhile, had fans worrying that Peter
2:33
was going to [music] permanently buy the
2:34
farm. Holland was publicly speculating
2:37
on who he'd like to be as replacement to
2:38
Spidey in interviews. [music] He had
2:40
said previously that if he's still
2:41
playing Spider-Man in his 30s, he had
2:43
done something wrong. Some fans and
2:45
writers for websites became convinced
2:47
that Brand New Day would be Holland's
2:49
last Spidey movie, but that's all just
2:50
speculation. [music]
2:51
It's also been speculated Holland signed
2:53
a deal to star in two more Spider-Man
2:55
solo films after Brand New Day, plus
2:57
three other MCU movies. You got to have
2:59
Spider-Man at Secret Wars, don't you?
3:01
That's unconfirmed, though. Holland has
3:03
said he'll keep playing Spidey as long
3:04
as they'll have him. [music] Whatever
3:06
the case, Peter sure doesn't die in
3:07
Brand New Day, though he does take a
3:09
bullet from The Punisher. Honestly, it'd
3:11
[music] be weird to give the movie where
3:12
Spider-Man dies that title. Count us as
3:15
having been suckered in by this one,
3:17
too. Almost as soon as Brand New Day was
3:19
announced, speculation began that the
3:21
Chinese gangster Mr. Negative [music]
3:22
would be at the heart of it. And there
3:23
was good reason to believe it. The
3:25
comics initiative that Brand New Day is
3:26
named after both introduced and heavily
3:28
featured him as a major villain. Not
3:30
only that, but Spider-Man No Way Home
3:32
introduced Feast, a shelter where
3:33
Peter's aunt May worked to help people
3:35
in need.
3:36
>> I saw Spider-Man in an ad for this
3:39
place,
3:40
and I thought he could help me, but
3:43
you're not him.
3:44
>> In the comics, Beast is owned and
3:46
operated by Martin Lee, who turns out in
3:48
a shocking twist to be the alter ego of
3:50
Mr. [music] Negative. Once promotional
3:52
material for Brand New Day started
3:53
coming out, people became even more
3:55
convinced that Mr. Negative would be
3:57
playing a major role in the movie. The
3:58
day one promo video for the movie
4:00
prominently featured Spidey on a tank
4:02
that sure seemed to have the logo of Mr.
4:03
[music] Negatives gang, the inner demons
4:05
on it. And hey, maybe the tank did come
4:07
from the inner demons, but [music] they
4:09
aren't driving it. In the actual movie,
4:11
it turns out to just be some lady who's
4:13
being mind controlled by Gan Gray the
4:14
whole [music] time. Mr. Negative is
4:16
nowhere to be seen, and the role the
4:17
inner demons could have served is
4:19
instead being handled by the hand. But
4:21
perhaps that tank logo is a tease for a
4:23
future appearance. Rumors don't come out
4:26
of nowhere. Well, sometimes they do, but
4:28
often they come from people piecing
4:29
together the information they have in an
4:31
at least somewhat reasonable way. The
4:33
notion that Scorpion would play a much
4:35
bigger role in Brand New Day and merge
4:37
with the Venom symbiote definitely seems
4:39
to have come from that kind of thought
4:40
process. Michael Mando's return as Matt
4:42
Gargan, [music] his first time back in
4:44
the role since Spider-Man Homecoming,
4:45
was announced all the way back in August
4:47
2025. And the end of Homecoming seemed
4:49
to be building up the Scorpion [music]
4:51
as a serious threat to Spidey. I've got
4:53
some boys on the outside who would love
4:55
to meet him. You know, take a picture,
4:58
slice his throat, put his head in a
5:00
dryer.
5:00
>> Fans knew that Gargan bonded with a
5:02
Venom symbiote for a while in the comics
5:04
back in the 2000s. And wouldn't you know
5:06
it, a piece of Venom's black goo got
5:08
left behind at the end of Spider-Man No
5:10
Way Home. Thanks to dimension hopping
5:12
events in that movie, Eddie Brock
5:13
briefly finds himself in the 616
5:15
universe in a bar in Mexico. He gets
5:17
sent back to his own universe by Doctor
5:19
Strange's spell, but a little piece of
5:21
Venom is left behind. Something has to
5:24
happen with that, right? You'd sure
5:25
think so. Mando even teased as much on
5:28
social media, but it doesn't happen in
5:29
Brand New Day, and it doesn't come
5:31
anywhere near the Scorpion, whose
5:32
rematch with Spidey is little more than
5:34
a stepping stone in the wider plot of
5:36
the movie. Back in the spring, various
5:38
websites reported that Marvel had been
5:40
looking to cast what was repeatedly
5:41
described as an older female antagonist
5:43
for Brand New Day. We think Sarah Snook
5:46
and Anne Hathaway probably wouldn't have
5:47
liked the term older, but their names
5:49
were reported as two actresses who had
5:51
been offered this role. Maybe by older
5:53
they meant older than Peter. Nicole
5:55
Kidman's name also came up in a few
5:56
headlines and Reddit threads. This
5:58
naturally led to a whole bunch of
6:00
theories as to who this antagonist could
6:02
be. Some thought it might be Black Cats,
6:04
though it would be a bit of a change
6:05
from the comics to make her considerably
6:07
older than Spider-Man. She's also more
6:08
of an ally than antagonist most of the
6:11
time. The character a lot of guesses
6:12
ended up landing on was Silver Sable,
6:14
the leader of the mercenary group the
6:16
Wild Pack. Sable's loyalties are always
6:18
to the highest bidder. [music]
6:19
And particularly with Sarah Snook, we
6:21
can kind of see it. But there's no older
6:23
female antagonist to be found. Maybe
6:25
there was an early draft of the script
6:27
with one, but it looks like rewrites and
6:29
casting whiffs, Snook and Hathaway both
6:31
reportedly turned Marvel down led to
6:33
Trel Tilman's Bill Mezer becoming the
6:35
primary bad guy. As casting and
6:38
character details for Brand New Day
6:39
dribbled out, the sheer number of
6:40
villains that seemed set to appear was
6:43
worrisome. Frankly, on top of Mezer,
6:45
Scorpion, a seemingly antagonistic Gan
6:47
Gray, and what appeared to be a Mr.
6:49
Negative appearance, there were also
6:50
Boomerang, Tarantula, Ramrod, Tombstone,
6:53
The Hand, and other rumored baddies like
6:55
Silver Sable, Viper, and even Silver
6:57
Samurai. There were also rumors that
6:59
both Tarantula and Tombstone were the
7:01
secret main villains of the entire
7:03
movie. Marvel never even announced an
7:04
actor for Tarantula before the movie got
7:06
released. [music] As for Tombstone, not
7:08
only would a top bad guy spot be a coup
7:10
for the character role Lonnie Lincoln,
7:12
but it'd be a big step up for actor
7:14
Marvin Jones III, too. Jones played a
7:16
Tombstone like crime boss on the CW
7:18
series Black Lightning, but that's
7:20
pretty different from carrying a
7:21
tentpole MCU film. Ultimately, most of
7:23
the villains who appear are dealt with
7:25
during an opening montage where
7:26
Spider-Man protects New York from
7:28
various criminals. [music] Tombstone's
7:29
appearance is super brief, and it's
7:31
mostly just a nod to the Spider-Verse
7:33
films, in which Jones also voiced
7:35
Tombstone.
7:36
>> You messed up big time, kid. Very
7:39
sloppy. One other villain, though, a
7:41
romantic rival of Peter rather than a
7:43
criminal for Spider-Man to fight,
7:44
thought to be in the movie, was Paul
7:45
Rabin. In the comics, Paul gets together
7:47
with Mary Jane thanks to some convoluted
7:49
dimension hopping stuff. It sure seemed
7:51
like Iman Espondi could have been
7:53
playing Paul. And who knows, maybe he
7:55
was Paul, but if he was, it wasn't all
7:57
that important. He doesn't ever get
7:59
named and is only credited as MJ's
8:01
boyfriend. The first three Tom Holland
8:04
starring Spider-Man movies were all
8:05
helmed by the same director, John Watts.
8:08
For Brand New Day, Watts passed the
8:09
baton to someone who's become one of
8:11
Marvel Studios go-to guys, Destin Daniel
8:13
Cretton's first Marvel project
8:15
was directing Shongi and the Legend of
8:17
the 10 Rings back in 2021. Much more
8:20
recently, Cretton was a key creative
8:22
driving force behind the surprise hit
8:23
Disney Plus series Wonderman. Not only
8:25
directing two episodes, but co-creating
8:28
and executive producing the series. Some
8:30
fans theorized that there had to be a
8:31
reason was the next Spider-Man
8:33
director beyond him simply becoming one
8:35
of Marvel's most reliable creators.
8:37
Maybe, just maybe, [music] Brand New Day
8:39
would be connected to Cretton's other
8:41
work somehow. That led to rumors that
8:42
maybe Simu Leu would appear as Shongi.
8:45
He's a martial arts guy, so he could
8:47
help fight off the inner demons or the
8:48
hand, right? Some also believe that
8:50
Brand New Day could pick on threads
8:51
[music] from Wonderman, either involving
8:53
the teleportation enabling character
8:55
Doorman or Simon Williams himself. But
8:58
nah, Marvel simply picked a director
8:59
they could trust to head up the movie.
9:01
That's [music] it. Okay. Yeah, this one
9:04
got us, too. There were all kinds of
9:05
reasons to think that Charlie Cox's Matt
9:07
Murdoch would be showing up in Brand New
9:09
Day. He was in No Way Home as Peter's
9:11
lawyer. The second season of Daredevil:
9:13
Born Again just set up a new status quo
9:15
for New York City. The Hand, who are
9:16
usually Daredevil villains, are in the
9:18
movie. The Punisher, who first appeared
9:20
in the MCU in the Daredevil Netflix
9:21
series, is in the movie. Add to that
9:23
Cox's cutesy denials when he was asked
9:25
about being in Brand New Day. This is
9:27
exactly the kind of stuff actors say
9:29
when they're trying not to spill the
9:30
beans.
9:31
>> Are you in the movie?
9:32
>> No. If I was in the movie, I would also
9:34
say no, to be clear,
9:37
>> but I'm not in the movie.
9:39
>> Marvel has a long history of editing
9:40
trailers to obscure, hide, or outright
9:43
lie about who's showing up in their
9:44
films. and fans were scouring the brand
9:46
new day trailers to find where Daredevil
9:48
might be hiding in plain sight. One shot
9:50
in particular of Spider-Man facing down
9:52
the hand had a suspiciously empty lower
9:54
corner where the man without fear would
9:56
fit [music] very snugly. But Daredevil
9:58
isn't there nor anywhere else in Brand
10:00
New Day. Cox's Matt Murdoch would
10:02
usually be a welcome addition, but in a
10:04
movie as over stuffed as Brand New Day
10:06
already is, he wouldn't even get all
10:07
that much time to shine. On top of that,
10:09
Matt has assuredly forgotten he was ever
10:11
Peter's lawyer to begin with, thanks to
10:13
the ending of No Way Home. So, we'd have
10:15
to see Peter explain who he is to yet
10:17
another friend. Plus, Born Again season
10:19
2 ended with Matt in prison. Maybe we
10:22
can get a true Spidey Daredevil team up
10:24
somewhere down the road. There just
10:25
wasn't room for it in Brand New Day.
