Heading to see Spider-Man: Brand New Day? 8 Marvel movies and shows you should watch beforehand
Get those spidey senses seriously activated
When Spider-Man: Brand New Day rolls into cinemas on 29 July, it will represent the fourth standalone appearance of Tom Holland’s web-slinging hero, and his seventh in the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
That’s a whole lot of narrative baggage to be dragging around with you. If you’re not au fait with the character’s films to date (where have you been?), or have simply forgotten all the ins and outs of his reality-warping escapades, a little light revision might be in order.
We’re not suggesting that you wade through Marvel’s entire cinematic and televisual back catalogue on Disney+. Rather, we’d suggest that you hone in on as many of the following movies and TV episodes as possible.
Between them they’ll introduce you to all of the characters, themes and plot points that seem to be feeding into Spider-Man: Brand New Day – going by the trailer footage we’ve seen and the rumours we’ve heard, at least.
Work your way through these entries over the coming days and weeks, and you’ll be able to enter that blissfully air conditioned theatre with confidence.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Let’s get the obvious ones out of the way first. Spider-Man: Brand New Day appears to represent the end of Spidey’s original arc in the MCU, as well as the start of a possible new one. To that end, the best revision you can be doing for the new film is to rewatch the original trilogy, which started off in 2017 with Spider-Man: Homecoming. It’s here that we meet gifted high school student Peter Parker, potential love interest MJ, and best buddy Ned, as well as establishing the tone and themes that will run through the entire tetralogy.
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
The second Tom Holland Spider-Man movie is the first to have a direct relationship to the major plot points of Brand New Day. It’s here in Far From Home that events are set in motion that will result in our hero cutting such a lonely, forlorn figure at the outset of the latest film. It’s also, unfortunately, the worst of the first three Spidey movies, though it has its moments. In particular, it shows our hero contending with the loss of a major mentor figure, Tony Stark, and the burgeoning of his relationship with MJ.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
We’ve boldly stated that you should be watching all three Spider-Man films in the series ahead of Brand New Day, like we don’t all lead busy lives. If time is of the essence and you need to take a Spidey crash course, however, just watch the last film. Not only is Spider-Man: No Way Home a really good movie in its own right, the events contained within lead directly into those of Brand New Day. Specifically, we learn why Peter is so isolated in the new film, observing his friends from afar and scrabbling around for guidance from senior figures.
Daredevil (Season 2)
![Marvel's Daredevil - Season 2 | Official Trailer - Part 2 [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2Cn3DVV0LHY/maxresdefault.jpg)
Some of the most striking footage of the Brand New Day trailers has been of our favourite web slinger going head to head with a gang of red-clad ninjas. These would appear to be The Hand, a shady organisation that we previously ran into during Charlie Cox’s original Daredevil run on Netflix (and now on Disney+). They were heavily featured in The Defenders crossover series, but we wouldn’t put you through the ordeal of having to watch that. Check out The Hand’s introduction in the second season of Daredevil instead. The season also helpfully introduces us to another key character...
The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026)
Brand New Day’s packed cast list includes John Bernthal’s The Punisher. You could watch both seasons of the made-for-Netflix Punisher series if you really wanted to do a deep dive on this iteration of Frank Castle. But given that Daredevil Season 2 doubles as a handy introduction to the character, you can probably learn everything else in this one-off Disney+ episode. It only launched a couple of months ago, so it should offer the ideal lead-in to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with our grizzled vigilante finding a new (dare we say heroic?) purpose.
The Avengers (2012)
Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner is all set to inherit the role of Spidey’s senior Avengers advisor in Brand New Day, while his Hulk alter ego will seemingly face off against Spidey at some point. Given that there is no standalone movie featuring this version of the character (come on Marvel), the best showcase for his whole Jekyll and Hyde dynamic remains the original Avengers movie from 2012. It’ll grant you a neat introduction to the character and his unique (often mutually exclusive) combination of brains and brawn.
Dark Phoenix (2019)
![Dark Phoenix | Final Trailer [HD] | 20th Century FOX - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/azvR__GRQic/maxresdefault.jpg)
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is heavily rumoured to serve as a narrative stepping stone into Marvel’s X-Men reboot. Not only is mutation a prominent theme, judging from the trailers, but team member Jean Grey is tipped to feature in some sort of antagonistic role, potentially played by Sadie Sink. If you want to head that possibility off with a cinematic introduction to the powerful telepath, you could always check out the original X-Men movie from 2000. We’ve picked 2019’s Dark Phoenix, not because it’s a particularly good film, but because it features a younger, more dangerous Jean Grey at the centre of it.
Captain America: Civil War
This one’s more of a bonus round than essential viewing, but it might just dot the final few i’s and cross the t’s for the uninformed. If you’re at all curious as to how this iteration of your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man came to rub shoulders with the wider Marvel universe, take a look at Captain America: Civil War. The second standalone feature for Chris Evans’s time-displaced super soldier is a de facto third Avengers movie, and also pulls Spidey into his first scrap with his fellow Marvel heroes.
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