Spider-Man: Brand New Day is finally hitting theaters this summer, and while No Way Home finally brought all three live-action Spider-Men together, this film is telling a story that fans have been asking for even longer. Brand New Day will focus on the fallout of Strange’s spell in No Way Home, with Peter now having to deal with the fact that nobody remembers him. Based on the film’s trailer, things have only been getting worse for Peter. Unfortunately, this time, Spidey is without help.
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So far, each MCU Spider-Man movie has seen Peter get the help of a major Avengers-related character, with his connection to the team allowing him to get this assistance. In Homecoming, Peter gets advice from Tony Stark. In Far From Home, he gets supervised and assisted by Nick Fury. In No Way Home, he gets magical aid from Doctor Strange. In Brand New Day, however, Spidey will be facing off against a rampaging Hulk, changing his dynamic with other MCU heroes. However, this isn’t the most exciting returning hero in the film.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Is Finally A Crossover Of The MCU’s Movies & TV Shows
2013’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a major step forward for the MCU, with it being the franchise’s first venture into the world of television. The return of Agent Coulson on the small screen was a promise that the MCU would be able to tell longer-form stories focusing on smaller-scale characters, all of which would work in tandem with the movies to tell the franchise’s story. Later shows like Agent Carter and Inhumans, as well as Netflix’s Defenders universe, made this proposition even more exciting, as it meant that some of Marvel’s biggest heroes could get explored in regular TV installments rather than movies.
Unfortunately, this didn’t wind up happening as fans had hoped. Some shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. regularly referenced events that were occurring in the MCU movies. However, this wasn’t the case for the Defenders shows. Outside of referencing the Battle of New York. Shows like Daredevil seemed scared to even mention heroes by name, with them instead vaguely referencing aspects of the core Avengers. On the movie side, the TV shows were never referenced. Someone who just watched the movies would never know that Coulson was alive or that the Defenders existed. It seemed like the MCU movies were intentionally ignoring the shows, making their connection one-way.
It may have taken over a decade, but it looks like this promise is finally being fulfilled. Matt Murdock’s appearance in No Way Home was the first tease of the TV-movie connection returning, but since the canon status of Daredevil was up in the air at the time, this doesn’t really count. However, now that the Punisher will be in Brand New Day, it is undeniable that Marvel’s original slate of TV shows are now influencing the movies.
The Punisher: One Last Kill is a direct continuation of Netflix’s The Punisher TV series. When the special ends, Punisher has decided to be a hero rather than just a vengeful killer. This storyline will presumably be directly continued in Brand New Day, with Frank getting involved in whatever villainous issue that Spidey is attempting to solve. This means that Brand New Day viewers need the context of The Punisher show and special to fully understand the context of the movie. This is the kind of connection between the movies and shows that fans have been asking for all this time, and it’s great that the interconnectivity is finally being kicked off in 2026.
The MCU Needs To Focus On Its TV Characters More In The Future
Characters like Daredevil, the Punisher, and Luke Cage are still huge names. However, they’re much easier to tell stories about, and the lower profile of their actors means that they’re easier to get back for recurring projects than some of the MCU’s TV stars. Daredevil: Born Again is one of the most well-received MCU projects in recent years, and the MCU really needs to capitalize on all of these benefits by bringing these characters back more in the movies.
For example, let’s say that Marvel made a movie that heavily focuses on Daredevil. Whether this is a Daredevil solo movie or a team-up film with Spider-Man, the film would be a great entry point for viewers who aren’t familiar with the character. This film could push more viewers to the TV shows, which see more regular output and critical acclaim. This would allow the MCU to be more ever-present without having to churn out so many movies, while the franchise simultaneously gets more views for shows that it is already producing.
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