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Refusing to be overshadowed by the bombshell trailer delivered by Marvel Studios classmate Avengers: Doomsday, Tom Holland's Spider-Man: Brand New Day is making its own headlines this week. Only ten days away from its worldwide premiere at the box office, there's at least one main character/actor who is surprised he made it this far in the franchise.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will mark the fourth feature film for Holland, presumably the first in his second trilogy in the franchise, and he's not come all this way alone. Zendaya (MJ Watson) and Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds) are two critical pieces that have lasted the entire ride thus far, and that is much to the surprise of Peter Parker's Man in the Chair.
Vital Spider-Man Star Believed He'd Be Gone By Now
"Luckily, we're all best friends, so if he's making another one, we're going to be there!" Batalon said during a panel for Spider-Man: Brand New Day that was attended by CBR's Sean O'Connell. "But yeah, I think a lot of it was left open-ended on purpose. But at that point, it was really emotional, obviously. I think we were all grown up enough to know that some things don't get to last forever."
He continued: "But, luckily, we're privileged and lucky enough to be a part of this again. During that time [of No Way Home], specifically… it was a hard time for everyone. I was crying a lot that [last] day."
Given the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it definitely tracks that Batalon would've believed it was his last ride. After all, the final spell cast by Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), at the emotional and gut-wrenching request of Peter Parker, was for everyone to forget who Spider-Man was — after his secret identity was revealed to the world by Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
How Much Longer Will Marvel's Spider-Man Trio Last?
The open-ended conclusion of Spider-Man: No Way Home allowed Marvel Studios to go in a lot of different directions, and the one they chose involves Parker coming of age with his superpowers in a transformation that will test him physically, mentally and emotionally.
This will all occur as he tries to remain in the lives of MJ and Ned, though they have no clue, at the moment, that he's actually their best friend ... and Spider-Man. The fourth film will also introduce more canon into Holland's Spider-Man franchise and a return of the character to street-level justice and web-slinging around New York City – breaking from the multiverse plot that's steered much of the previous two movies.
There is a very real question to be answered here regarding the future of MJ Watson and Ned, though. Parker has already lost Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) to an attack by Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). He also lost his mentor, Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man, in Avengers: Endgame. It seems only a matter of time before another tragedy befalls Spider-Man, and that means MJ and Ned better keep their heads on a swivel (just ask Gwen Stacy).
They say death comes in threes, after all.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters worldwide on July 31, 2026.
