5 Spider-Man: Brand New Day Theories We Really Hope Are True

MCU fans have been in a tizzy lately over rumored casting and potential villains surrounding Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The fourth MCU Spider-Man film is set to swing into the theaters on July 31, 2026, at least for now. This time, Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) is stepping into the director’s chair instead of Jon Watts, who directed the first the three installment of the adventures of MCU Spider-Man. While plot details are being kept under Marvel’s trademark lock and key, the story is said to follow Peter Parker’s struggle to focus on college and leave Spider-Man behind. Lest we forget, his identity was erased from everyone’s memories at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, a new threat emerges that endangers Peter’s friends, compelling him to suit up once again and join forces with an unexpected ally.

That sparse summary leaves ample room for interpretation and speculation. Five theories in particular we think could make Brand New Day a worthy addition to MCU Peter’s saga, and we really hope their true.

1) Sadie Sink Will Play Mayday Parker

For the past couple weeks, the internet has been abuzz that Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) will make her MCU debut as Spider-Man’s daughter, Mayday Parker. If you’re scratching your head thinking “Huh? Isn’t Tom Holland’s Peter a college student?”, the rumors speculate that she’ll be playing Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, “Peter 2”, daughter. Maguire reprised his role as his version of Spider-Man in No Way Home, much to the delight of fans. In the film, Maguire mentions that he and his Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) “made it work”. Did they make their relationship work well enough to start a family?

This rumor may have some truth to it, since when Deadline asked Sink about her role, all she said “I see a lot of rumors too. They’ve been really cool to read. I love the Marvel Universe. I mean they’re awesome rumors.” Mayday and MCU Peter could make for a dynamic and potentially hilarious duo, so we hope this is how Sink will make her Marvel debut!

RELATED: 5 Female Spiderverse Characters We Need to See in Live Action

2)  Scorpion, Tombstone, and Boomerang will be Villains

One of the biggest questions plaguing fans about Brand New Day is who Spider-Man will be facing off against? At least a dozen characters have been floated as Spidey’s latest nemesis, but it seems a Disney’s consumer products presentation in Las Vegas may have narrowed the list down to three. According to Instagram user Chris Higashi, the Brand New Day sizzle reel featured early concept art of villains Scorpion, Boomerang, and Tombstone.

Scorpion’s alter ago, Mac Gargan (Michael Mando) already appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Scorpion’s arachnid-like abilities that rival Spidey’s, Tombstone’s heightened invincibility and criminal empire, and Boomerang’s deadly aim, they would undoubtedly make a formidable trio for Peter to have to contend with.

3) Brand New Day Will Be A More Grounded, Street-Level Story

One of the biggest departures the MCU Spider-Man trilogy made from its Sony counterparts was how involved Peter Parker was with the Avengers, and particularly Iron Man. While that led to a bevy of fresh, heart-wrenching stories during Spidey’s high school years, Peter is now a well-developed and well-established character in his own right.

Coming off the heels of Avengers: Doomsday, it would be near impossible for Brand New Day to be a complete standalone. However, Reddit user TheGreenArrow160 proposed that given that the film is reportedly drawing from the Most Wanted arc from Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, along with the smaller reach of the alleged villains in the movie, there’s a good chance Brand New Day will tell a more intimate story against the larger backdrop of whatever Doomsday brings. A welcome change since, especially after Tom Holland’s endearing, heart-wrenching performance amidst No Way Home‘s multiversal madness, he’s proved that he has the acting chops to carry a story focused more on Peter’s internal struggles.

4) Miles Morales Will Make an Appearance in Live-Action

Earlier this month, Deadline reported that Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear) joined the cast of Brand New Day, and fans couldn’t help but notice she’d make a fantastic Rio Morales, Miles’s mother. No Way Home established that Peter meeting different versions of himself, and the animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse referenced the live-action Peter Parkers as Miguel O’Hara explained canon events to Miles. Therefore, does Colón-Zayas’ casting mean that we could see a live-action Miles? Though this is a flimsier fan theory, we’re no less hopeful that it could pan out since a Peter and Miles live-action team-up would be nothing short of epic.

5) Peter Will Have A New Love Interest

It’s no secret that Zendaya is a busy woman. She’s committed to filming season 3 of Euphoria and Dune: Messiah this year, which doesn’t leave her much time to reprise her role as MJ in Brand New Day, though we know she’s quite fond of her co-star. Even so, rumors have popped up across the internet that MJ will have a smaller role in Spider’s fourth box office bow, and Felicia Hardy/Black Cat could be introduced and vie for Peter’s affections. Or she could be his adversary. Probably both.

Names like Anya Taylor-Joy and Sydney Sweeney have been floated as potential Felicias, though Taylor-Joy seems a more likely candidate than Sweeney saeeing as Sweeney already starred in the remarkably unsuccessful Madame Web. While Peter and MJ are viewed as endgame in the eyes of most fans, a new love interest for Spider-Man would definitely shake things up and make for an entertaining ride in Brand New Day.