Sadie Sink Is Almost Definitely Jean Grey in Spider-Man, But What If It She Was the Return of a ’80s Favorite

April 6, 2026, 9:00am

One of the biggest pieces of speculation regarding Spider-Man: Brand New Day has to do with who Sadie Sink is playing, and while she is almost definitely Jean Grey, the film perfectly sets up the return of this ’80s favorite. When Sadie Sink’s casting was announced, all kinds of characters were theorized, with fans citing reasons for her to be playing supervillains, superheroes, and civilians from throughout Marvel Comics. However, it really seems like she’s going to be playing Jean Grey, even though this hasn’t been officially announced.

Videos by ComicBook.com

The evidence keeps piling up when it comes to Jean Grey making her MCU debut in Brand New Day. First, the trailer shows that Sink’s character is wearing a trenchcoat with green and yellow, two colors heavily associated with Jean. On top of that, there are rumors that the DODC will be hunting her, as they have with other MCU mutants. Plus, the fact that Marvel is keeping the role a secret at all is evidence that Sink is playing Jean, as it would be strange to build all of this hype just to reveal that she is a small character. However, one of these smaller characters would be perfect for Brand New Day‘s story.

Brand New Day Is Already A Modern-Day Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends (And Firestar Would Make It Better)

Unlike the previous three MCU Spider-Man movies, Brand New Day is a true team-up of Spider-Man and two other heroes. The film will seemingly follow Spider-Man, the Punisher, and Hulk, with all three of the heroes taking on a new mysterious threat as well as the Hand ninja clan. On top of that, there are rumors that Daredevil could appear in Brand New Day, making the team-up aspect of this film even greater.

So, Brand New Day is more than just a Spider-Man movie, as it also focuses on some of the character’s amazing friends. This obviously draws parallels to the 1980s cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, in which Spider-Man teamed up with the X-Man Iceman and the original hero Fire-Star in order to fight villains and stop crime. The show ran for three seasons and was a response to the DC show Super Friends, with it continuing its inspiration’s campy tone and cheap animation.

So, if Brand New Day really wants to highlight its Amazing Friends connections, it should have Sadie Sink play Fire-Star. This is one of the characters that fans have speculated Sink will be playing, and while this rumor has mostly fallen out of favor, it would be perfect for the story that is being set up. Spider-Man is already dealing with loose canon heroes like Punisher and Hulk, and adding Fire-Star to this list would exacerbate Peter’s situation even more.

On top of that, Jean Grey is already a well-known character who would be better suited for an X-Men movie. Fire-Star is pretty unknown to general audiences, so this would give the MCU an opportunity to establish a new superhero and take a lot of creative liberties with her.

Brand New Day Could Set Up Spider-Man Leading His Own Superhero Team

By leaning into the film’s Amazing Friends parallels, Brand New Day could set up an arc that covers the entire new Spider-Man trilogy. Spider-Man has learned to be a solo hero, but the next three movies could see Spidey learn to be the leader of a team. The MCU’s Spidey has already been a member of a team in Avengers: Infinity War and worked alongside other Spider-Men in No Way Home, so now’s the time to see him learn the responsibilities of being a leader.

Brand New Day could show the chaos of Peter’s attempts to lead a group of rogues. The first Brand New Day trailer shows that Spider-Man is clearly struggling to manage the Punisher, and things will only get worse when Hulk and Sink’s character get involved. By the end of the film, however, he could win them all over and successfully defeat the villain.

The subsequent Spider-Man films could take things even further, with Peter even leading his own branch of the Defenders by the end of the third film. After all, fans have been dying for a Spider-Man and Daredevil crossover. Born Again‘s storyline would be the perfect way to bring Spidey into the fold, and due to his history with the Avengers, he is probably the most qualified to lead a street-level superhero team.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!