Spider-Man: Brand New Day composer says he wanted to "make a sad Spider-Man movie"
The Spider-Man: Brand New Day theme reflects "pulling away all the pieces" of Peter Parker's life "that he doesn't have anymore"
Spider-Man: Brand New Day composer Michael Giacchino has sent a chill down all of our spines by teasing the tone of the new movie – and now I'm really worried for Peter Parker.
"Well, I guess I'll just say a little bit about this new Spider-Man," Giacchino shared at the Musical Anatomy of a Superhero panel at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. "I love the new Spider-Man movie. It's really great. I'm so excited. I can't wait for you guys to see it. Tom Holland is great – everyone. But it was really fun because at first I thought, 'Wow, I've never done four of anything. This is the first time I've done four movies of doing the same thing.'
"So, I wasn't sure what I was going to be able to bring new to the table for this, and I just sort of had this idea, that I asked Destin [Daniel Cretton], the director who did an incredible job, was, 'What if we just start removing all the extraneous notes from his theme in the way that could represent pulling away all the pieces of his life that he doesn't have anymore?'" Giacchino shared.
"I know, it's so sad," he continued, when the crowd aww'd. "I was like, 'I want to make a sad Spider-Man movie.' Everyone wants to see a sad Spider-Man, you know, because we're all sad and we can be sad together, it's great. But it was really fun to see what happened when this – I was curious if it would even hold up in that sense because now it is down to its base roots. And I look at it now, and I was like, 'Hmm, maybe you should have done that like three movies ago.' But we live and learn."
Spider-Man: Brand New Day certainly looks like an emotional installment in the quartet, mainly because, at the end of No Way Home, Peter Parker was erased from the memories of everyone in the multiverse. That means MJ and Ned no longer remember him, and he's pretty much all alone. So, having a different theme certainly seems fitting.
The film arrives this July 29 in the UK and July 31 in the US. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the most exciting upcoming movies for everything else the year has in store, and see our SDCC 2026 schedule or our SDCC 2026 live-blog to keep up to date on Comic-Con news.
You can also check out our SDCC 2026 predictions for what we think might be coming up.
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I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film section. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.
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