It's time for a fresh start for everyone's favorite neighborhood Spider-Man – but the webhead's latest cinematic instalment may have secretly done a whole lot more than that.
Already, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has introduced a prominent mutant, likely set up Spidey's next Avengers adventure, and has taken Hulk off the board for the foreseeable future.
Those are all easy-to-follow story beats and straight out of the Marvel Studios playbook of setting up narrative threads for future payoffs down the line.
But what if I told you there was a major Spider-Man sequel tease hiding in plain sight, one that could finally introduce an iconic character to the Sacred Timeline?
Unlike Ned's tireless tracking work in attempting to uncover Spider-Man's identity, I can prove I'm not crazy. I swear.
My two pieces of compelling evidence arrive at the house party early on in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
First up, Ned speaks to MJ about a job interview. Despite arriving home looking glum, MJ was offered the job – but turned it down. She then rants about how she doesn't want to work for corporations.
An odd talking point, but fair enough. Dig a little deeper, though, and it seems like this is more than just incidental dialogue. It's world-building of another kind.
After all, how many prominent corporations are there in the Marvel universe? Stark Industries is too big not to be named. Others, such as Roxxon, could be a possibility. But the smart money is on Oscorp, the New York company owned by Norman Osborn, AKA Green Goblin, a shadowy figure who hasn't yet appeared in the MCU (outside of Willem Dafoe's iteration arriving from the multiverse in No Way Home).
Zendaya's MJ certainly has the skillset to appear on Oscorp's radar. She majored in aerospace engineering in MIT – perfect for a Goblin Glider, perhaps? – and mentioned while being holed up in Punisher's hideout about her past experience in biochemical engineering, too.
Norman's on sabbatical, honey
Then there's The Boyfriend. No, the capital letters aren't for dramatic effect; it's how Marvel itself credits MJ's unnamed partner, played by Ahsoka's Eman Esfandi. Curious.
We later learn through MJ that The Boyfriend is controlling and isn't happy with how "withholding" she is in arguments. That's the sign of a toxic relationship right there. Enough to set up a young, prodigious villain like Harry Osborn, perhaps? Maybe. Maybe not. But why cast a relatively prominent actor if you aren't going to do something with him outside of giving MJ and Peter a ham-fisted reason to grow a little closer?
Marvel Studios has history with dropping in familiar faces for bit-part roles, but someone of Esfandi's standing deserves more than 10 seconds of screen time.
My theory? The Boyfriend will be unmasked in a Brand New Day sequel as a major comics character. Whether it's Harry Osborn offering a link to Oscorp or someone else remains to be seen, but Marvel and Sony are clearly trying to pull the rug out from under us in real time. And I'm not falling for it.
It would also go some way to resolving one of the main problems I have with Spider-Man's MCU saga: Tom Holland's lack of personal villains as Spider-Man. He needs a rogues' gallery of his own.
Michael Keaton's Vulture was a great start, but Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio was twisted by Tony Stark, not Peter Parker. No Way Home's multiverse mash-up also lacked the personal touch for Peter 1.
Even Brand New Day felt like Jean Grey's story rather than Spider-Man going up against villains – something diluted further by the sizzle reel of C-list foes Spidey takes down in the opening act's montage. So, Spider-Man and Harry Osborn/Oscorp would be something that adds a spicy ingredient that these movies have been lacking.
Hopefully, director Destin Daniel Cretton and star Tom Holland will be interrogated about this in the coming months. It's already playing on my mind, and it's been mere days since I've seen Brand New Day. I need a fiery Peter Parker/Norman Osborn on-screen rivalry again in my life. It's been decades since the last one – and it might be the best way to turn Brand New Day from an exceptional Spider-Man movie into the start of the wallcrawler's best trilogy yet.
For more, zip on over to our ranking of the best Spider-Man movies.
