The MCU’s Spider-Man Films Are Already Undoing No Way Home’s Biggest Change

We still don’t know who Stranger Things‘ Sadie Sink is playing in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. However, we know that her character will be aware of Spider-Man’s true identity: Peter Parker. That’s odd, because Spider-Man: No Way Home ended on a note that’s such an effective bummer that it may be the most memorable conclusion of a Spidey movie to date. So how does Sink’s character know that Parker is Spider-Man? According to rumors, she’s playing a villain, and it would make sense for that villain to be one who can hop from universe to universe. Or perhaps one who finds herself trapped on Earth-616, the Earth where most MCU adventures take place.

Thusly, while no one on Earth-616 knows who Spider-Man really is, someone from a different Earth could have learned that, provided Parker is Spider-Man there, as well. All signs point to her playing Shathra.

Who Is Shathra & When Might We Get the Trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

To address the elephant in the room, yes, at least some of Brand New Day‘s trailer leaked. How is not known. So when will we be able to watch the full trailer on the big screen? The safe bet is in front of another Sony release. It could very well be in front of Anaconda, Sony’s big movie vying for eyes on Christmas day. If it isn’t that, it will likely be in front of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which opens on January 16th.

Even if we do get it in front of one of those movies, it’s still doubtful that the trailer will let us know who Sink is playing. So why do we think she’ll be Shathra? Let’s unpack that.

For one, Shathra can travel between universes. She does this so she can dismantle the Web of Life and Destiny constructed by her sister, Neith. To do so, she has to kill or corrupt the various Spider-heroes that exist across the multiverse, e.g. Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Gwen, and, of course, Spider-Man.

This could help explain why she supposedly directly threatens Spider-Man’s entire existence in the leaked Brand New Day footage. Why do so if you haven’t done such a thing before?

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Then there’s the fact that Sink is also slated to appear in Avengers: Secret Wars which is, of course, a Multiverse-focused film. That film will begin shooting in London in 2026.

Now that the cat is out of the bag, there may be a few people who are bit disappointed, as there were many who were thinking and or hoping she would be playing the X-Men’s Jean Gray. But that isn’t the case, and maybe it’s for the best. It’s better for a Spider-Man to focus on Spider-Man, not serve as a way to further pull the mutant team into the MCU after Beast’s cameo in The Marvels and Wolverine’s inclusion in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Furthermore, the good news about going the Shathra route is that it doesn’t undo the sacrifice Parker made at the conclusion of No Way Home. It’s such a pivotal moment and it’s important it remains intact.

Who do you think Sadie Sink is playing in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Let us know in the comments.