Marvel hasn’t revealed much about ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’, but the pieces starting to fall into place suggest something very different from Peter Parker’s earlier MCU adventures. As ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ season 2 teases a city on edge, it is getting increasingly difficult to overlook what the story is leading towards.
It seems like the film will be a darker, more grounded version of New York than we have ever seen. Instead of another sunny, witty coming-of-age book, ‘Brand New Day’ is beginning to feel like a street-level confrontation in which Peter must deal with a city that is more angry, more fractured, and much less forgiving.
Daredevil’s New York Feels Like A Warning Sign For Spider-Man
The trailer for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ season 2 creates a distinct image of New York. Kingpin’s influence is on the rise, the trust of the people is being destroyed, and the citizens of the city seem to be tired of corruption, fear, and masked faces working in the gray zones of morality. It is not merely anarchy. It’s bitter. That setting is critical to take into account the fact that ‘Born Again’ season 2 is probably one of the last MCU projects in New York prior to ‘Brand New Day’.
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Unless Daredevil can completely quash this mounting tension, and there is little reason to think that he will, Spider-Man will be left with a city that is already on the brink. This perfectly coincides with the notion that Peter Parker is no longer just a friendly neighborhood hero. Following the events of ‘No Way Home’, Peter is a stranger, alone, and working without help.
Put Spider-Man in a city that is organizing against crime, corruption, and vigilantes, and his role becomes very complex. Instead of being celebrated, he could be questioned. Instead of jokes, he may face fear. That alone would alter the tone of a Spider-Man film radically, and that seems very intentional.
This Darker Spider-Man is Exactly What The MCU Needs
By adopting this darker tone, ‘Brand New Day’ would not just do Spider-Man a favor, but it would also make the MCU stronger. Tonal inconsistency has been one of the largest criticisms of the franchise in recent years. An emotionally heavy, grounded Spider-Man narrative that echoes the consequences of ‘Born Again’ and even ‘Thunderbolts’ would make the universe seem more lived-in and close. A darker tone also makes narrative sense for Peter Parker.
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It is a hero who has lost all that characterized his old life. A city that no longer instinctively believes in its heroes compels Peter to develop in new directions, not by learning to be responsible once again, but by choosing whether hope is worth fighting for. This does not imply that ‘Brand New Day’ should be heartless and humorless. Spider-Man is most effective when there is a balance between light and dark.
However, allowing the shadows to hang a bit longer would make the story more than just another sequel. It would turn it into another major character development arc. If ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ is showing us the cracks in New York’s soul, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ may be the film that asks whether that soul can still be saved, one web swing at a time.
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