The Marvel Cinematic Universe thrives on its secrecy, keeping fans in the dark about the big plot twists and surprise cameos that come in the biggest moments of the best MCU shows and movies. Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man: Brand New Day are two movies shrouded in some of the biggest veils of mystery ever, as Marvel Studios and Sony have a lot riding on whether both films can cross the billion-dollar mark at the box office.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will hit theaters just after San Diego Comic-Con, and the most ‘amazing’ thing about it is how little we still know about it. From the question of the film’s big bad to longstanding rumors that Spider-Man could become the official ambassador to the new MCU X-Men franchise, that title, “Brand New Day,” could imply much more than it initially seems to.
However, in one of his latest interviews, Spider-Man: Brand New Day star Tom Holland is shooting down the biggest rumor about the film’s X-Men connection. The only problem is: we don’t believe him, and neither does most of the fandom.
Critic and host Natalia Kreuser was doing a press interview for Spider-Man: Brand New Day with Tom Holland and director Destin Daniel Cretton, and took a deep dive into the question of whether or not Peter Parker’s ex-besties Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ (Zendaya) have forgotten “Spider-Man,” or just Peter Parker. Holland was clear that Ned and MJ still remember Spider-Man, which has left them both with the psychological ‘itch’ that something is missing from their lives (hence why Ned is so obsessed with tracking Spider-Man).
After confirming that MJ and Ned have the strange psychic block in their head, the interviewer went in for the real scoop: asking if Jean Grey could help clear that blockage. Tom Holland was caught off guard, but tried to quickly recover, stating (without much conviction), “She’s not in this movie, but it would be pretty cool.”
Tom Holland may be trying (a little too hard) to reverse course on his usual behavior when it comes to Marvel movies. Holland became infamous for accidentally spoiling the fact that Thanos dusted him (and so many other MCU heroes), while doing an early promotional event for Avengers: Infinity War. He’s also had a few slip-ups in interviews early in his MCU career, earning himself the title of ‘biggest leaker’ in the franchise, followed closely by Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo. Since then, Holland has earnestly tried to make sure he’s on top of his media training and never reveals major MCU secrets again.
It’s a Jedi mind trick. pic.twitter.com/BD2wEAVEhI
That all said: despite everything he’s showing viewers in The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day this summer, Tom Holland couldn’t get his acting face on quick enough in that interview to make anyone think his response was genuine. But hey, at least he’s come far enough to not fall for the bait the interviewer dangled. That’s something!
At this point, the majority of Marvel fans expect that Stranger Things star Sadie Sink will be revealed as X-Men’s Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day – but it’s not definite. Personally, we think Sink will be announced as Jean during San Diego Comic-Con 2026, a week before Brand New Day hits theaters. Then Tom Holland will catch flak for lying straight to our faces. Who does he think he is, Andrew Garfield?
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be in theaters on July 31st. Discuss the next MCU movies with us on the ComicBook Forum!
