“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” hits theaters on July 31, 2026, and as a lifelong Spider-Man enthusiast, I could not be more excited. 

Given that the last time we saw Peter Parker on the big screen was five years ago in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” now is the best time to refresh everyone’s memory on his journey throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This is a comprehensive guide to the MCU Spider-Man films, his appearances, end-credit scenes and what we might be seeing in “Brand New Day.” 

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

While the MCU films never draw from one specific comic book storyline, this trilogy does

After introducing Spider-Man in “Captain America: Civil War,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is the start of the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy reboot. 

 borrow heavily from the “Ultimate Spider-Man” run by Brian Michael Bendis. This comic run was a more modernized version of Spider-Man made for the 21st century, which Tom Holland has said was his main inspiration for his portrayal of Spider-Man. There’s also inspiration from the original “Amazing Spider-Man” run by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko that laid the groundwork for Parker’s challenges as a high school student. 

That is exactly what “Homecoming” tackles as Peter Parker tries to balance his role as a superhero with his civilian life. He thinks he’s ready for more superhero responsibilities, but he’s been put on the back burner by Tony Stark, who believes he is still too young (which is valid; he hasn’t even completed the Common App at this point; he’s 15.)

To prove himself, Parker, with help from his best friend, Ned Leeds, attempts to track down Vulture, who lost his job as a result of a deal Stark made with the U.S. government, and his criminal associates who have made a living making weapons with stolen alien technology and selling them on the black market. 

During a fight with Vulture on the Staten Island Ferry, the ferry splits in half, allowing Vulture to escape. Parker successfully saves the passengers with some assistance from Stark, who lectures him afterwards for his recklessness and confiscates his high-tech suit. 

Parker tries to put Spider-Man to rest and does so by going to his homecoming dance, only to discover his date’s father is Vulture. In a very tense ride to the high school gym, Vulture realizes Parker is Spider-Man and threatens him, which makes Parker realize he is going to hijack a plane that’s carrying weapons to the Avengers’ new headquarters. 

Parker leaves the dance, puts on his homemade Spider-Man suit, and goes after Vulture. They have an intense battle, and Vulture is arrested. Stark offers Parker a spot in the Avengers, which he declines, but he still gets his fancy suit back, which Aunt May sees him wearing at the very end of the film, so now she knows he’s Spider-Man. 

In one of the film’s end-credit scenes, Mac Gargan, one of Toomes’ buyers, approaches Toomes in jail, asking him for Spider-Man’s identity so he can enact revenge (he becomes important later). Toomes denies knowing who Spider-Man is, protecting Parker. 

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Peter Parker now finds himself in a world forever altered by the events of “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame,” most notably The Snap, which caused half of Earth’s population to disappear for five years. Parker is now also left without Tony Stark’s guidance since he sacrificed his life to bring back those who disappeared from The Snap and to defeat Thanos. 

With the public now looking to him as “the next Tony Stark,” Parker is attempting to run away from larger responsibilities and pressure to stay a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in a funny, ironic twist. He does this by going on a class trip to Europe and planning to confess his feelings to his new crush, Michelle “MJ” Jones. 

However, all his dreams are dashed when elemental monsters start attacking cities in Europe, and Nick Fury eventually tracks him down to fight these monsters alongside a new hero named Mysterio. 

Mysterio introduces himself to Parker as Quentin Beck and explains that he comes from an alternate universe that was destroyed by the very same Elementals that are destroying Earth right now. Parker believes Beck to be an amazing hero and entrusts him with E.D.I.T.H., an AI and weapon system left to him by Tony Stark, which he feels unworthy to wield. 

However, Beck’s entire story was a lie, and he’s actually just an ex-Stark Industries employee who’s upset about getting fired. It was actually him and a few other ex-employees that staged the attacks across Europe using holographic technology to simulate threats and powers to establish himself as a better hero than Stark. (If I had a nickel for every time Tony’s actions were responsible for creating a Spider-Man villain, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?)

MJ uncovers Beck’s lies, and Parker realizes he’s made a huge mistake in trusting Beck. He goes to London, gets control of E.D.I.T.H. again, disrupts Beck’s final illusion, and defeats him once and for all. 

Or so he thinks, because in a mid-credit scene where he is with MJ, who’s now his girlfriend, footage doctored by Beck’s team is broadcasted in Times Square, framing Spider-Man as being responsible for the attacks across Europe. Additionally, his identity is revealed to the world for the first time in Spider-Man’s cinematic history. 

Additionally, Sony’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” had a post-credit scene where Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock was transported into the MCU, with Venom seemingly recognizing Parker after very briefly seeing him on TV. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Peter Parker is now dealing with the aftermath of being framed for the damage Mysterio did, as well as having his identity revealed. The world now hates him, which not only makes his day-to-day life difficult but also hurts the people he loves. 

In an attempt to fix things, Parker seeks out Dr. Strange. Strange agrees to cast a spell to make it so everyone forgets that Parker is Spider-Man. However, while Strange is casting the spell, Parker keeps asking for alterations to it, which eventually corrupts it, leading Strange to contain the spell rather than casting it. 

Turns out, the corrupted spell summoned people from other universes who know the identity of Spider-Man (which explains Venom’s post-credit scene). Several villains from Spider-Man’s cinematic history start to show up, including Norman Osborn (Green Goblin).

Parker, Leeds and MJ track down all of the villains so Strange can send them back to their respective universes and timelines. But after learning that all of them would die upon their return, as it is their fate, and with inspiration from Aunt May, Parker decides to try to cure the villains of their ailments in an attempt to save them. 

He successfully saves one, but before Parker could get to the others, Osborn’s Goblin persona takes over once again and convinces the rest of the villains that they don’t need saving. They all run away into the city, with Osborn murdering Aunt May in the process. 

Leeds discovers that Strange’s sling ring gives him magic abilities and begins creating portals to find Parker since he has run off to evade the police. Instead of finding his best friend, he finds two more Peter Parkers from different universes: the Peter Parkers from the adaptations produced by Sony, played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. They are dubbed Peter 2 and Peter 3, respectively. 

Peter 2 and Peter 3 go off to find Peter 1, who loses all motivation to help the villains after May’s death, to encourage him to continue to heal the villains rather than just sending them off to die since that isn’t who Spider-Man is. They come up with new antidotes together and go off to administer them in a sick final battle where all three Spider-Men fight together. (I would give anything to see this in theaters for the first time again.) 

They save all of the villains, but during the battle, Green Goblin releases the corrupted spell, which breaks the universe even further, inviting anyone else who knows Spider-Man’s identity. Parker asks Strange to cast another spell making everyone forget he exists; he promises MJ and Leeds that he will find them after the spell is cast and jog their memories. The spell is cast, and everyone is returned to their own universes. 

When Parker visits MJ and Leeds to remind them of who he is, he decides against introducing himself again and walks away from them forever to protect them (it’s as sad as it sounds). He moves on, living in a rundown apartment and donning a homemade Spider-Man suit. 

During a mid-credit scene, we see Eddie Brock get transported back to his own universe because of the final spell, but a piece of the Venom symbiote is left behind by accident. 

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

There are so many possibilities for the next Spider-Man installment, which Marvel has been trying its best to keep under wraps. The trailer has given fans some clues as to what Peter Parker will face next.

The trailer makes a point to emphasize words like “evolution” and “mutation,” ending on “rebirth.” We also see Parker going through some kind of physical change with blacked-out eyes and waking up in web cocoons. 

It’s because of this that many fans have speculated that Parker will go through a mutation to become Man-Spider. In the “Spectacular Spider-Man” (2003) #15 comic, Peter Parker becomes more spider than man and turns into a giant spider after encountering a villain. It’s truly terrifying, but he is stronger than ever and can even produce his own webbing once he turns back into a human. 

Now while the villainess, Queen, who starts this mutation, isn’t confirmed to be in the film, we do know that Mac Gargan is coming back as the Scorpion (I said he’d be important later), and the Hand will be on screen as well. It’s not completely unfair to believe that some other exposure could start that kind of change in him.

Then there is the possibility that we could see Parker host the Venom symbiote. That could be an explanation for his physical changes, as well as “No Way Home”’s end-credit scene. 

The biggest mystery surrounding “Brand New Day” is the identity of Sadie Sink’s character; Marvel and Sony have guarded it heavily since she was announced as part of the cast. The leading theory has been that she is playing Jean Grey, a mutant member of the X-Men who has telekinetic and telepathic abilities.

This is a popular theory since Marvel is currently trying to reboot the X-Men, and many classic characters have already been confirmed for “Avengers: Doomsday,” which will be released later this year. There is also some kind of intangible force that’s affecting some people in the “Brand New Day” trailer, which is suggestive of Jean Grey’s powers. 

I also feel that other characters Marvel hasn’t confirmed will be making an appearance because there is way too much space in this part of the trailer. Marvel is no stranger to editing characters out to keep their secrets; that’s what they did for the “No Way Home” trailer to hide Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s appearances. 

Now who could they be hiding? It could just be Sadie Sink as Jean Grey fighting alongside Spider-Man. There’s also a possibility that the blank space is masking Daredevil, a street-level hero based in New York. He made an appearance in “No Way Home” as Parker’s lawyer, and with The Punisher confirmed to be in the film via the trailer, Daredevil might make an appearance as well. 

At the end of the day, this is all speculation. Regardless of what we do or don’t see on screen on July 31, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is sure to be chock-full of adrenaline highs and heart-wrenching moments guaranteed to make it the action flick of the summer.