Spider-Man 4’s official title has been revealed – and it has ties to a controversial time in the Marvel hero’s 80-year-plus comic book history

• Sony and Marvel have revealed the official title for Spider-Man 4
• The superhero movie's real name was unveiled at CinemaCon 2025
• Tom Holland's next big-screen adventure isn't likely to adapt its comic book namesake's story

Spider-Man 4 is no more. No, I don't mean one of the most anticipated comic book movies has suddenly been canceled. I'm actually referring to the fact that the superhero film finally has an official title.

Revealed during Sony Pictures' CinemaCon 2025 presentation yesterday (March 31), the webslinger's next outing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is called Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Sony also reconfirmed the forthcoming flick's recently revised launch date, too, with Spider-Man 4 set to swing into theaters on July 31, 2026. Originally, Brand New Day was going to land in theaters worldwide on July 24, 2026, but its launch was delayed so it won't go up against The Odyssey, aka Christopher Nolan's movie reimagining of Homer's ancient Greek epic poem.

Taking to the stage during Sony's presentation, director Daniel Destin Cretton also reaffirmed filming will begin on Spider-Man's latest MCU outing in mid-2025. Tom Holland, who plays the titular hero and his civilian identity Peter Parker, addressed the audience via a pre-recorded message.

Given he has previous form for spoiling the plot of Marvel movies, Holland erred on the side of caution this time around. Indeed, after apologizing for not being at the event in-person – Holland is part of The Odyssey's all-star cast, so he's currently filming that flick – he went to say about Spider-Man 4: "I know we left you with a massive cliff hanger at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, so Spider Man: Brand New Day is a fresh start. It is exactly that. That’s all I can say."

Spider-Man: Brand New Day's controversial title explained

Spider-Man 4's new name obviously alludes to the start of a *ahem* brand new trilogy for the beloved wallcrawler that'll begin with this Marvel Phase 6 project. No Way Home effectively closed the door on the most recent chapter in Peter Parker's life; the superpowered teenager beginning anew after Doctor Strange cast a spell to make everyone – including Peter's girlfriend MJ and best buddy Ned – forget he was Spider-Man in No Way Home's final act.

Nevertheless, the mere mention of the upcoming movie's subtitle is enough to send a shiver down the most devoted Spider-Man fan. Indeed, Brand New Day is also the title of a comic book storyline, which ran from January 2008 to July 2008, that followed the most controversial comic series in the Marvel hero's 80-year-plus existence.

For the uninitiated: the 'Brand New Day' storyline was the sequel to the extremely divisive 'One More Day' event. In the latter four-part series, Peter and Mary Jane sacrificed their marriage to save Aunt May's life after she was shot by Kingpin. The Parkers made a deal with the demon lord known as Mephisto to spare Aunt May, but he'd erase the couple's entire history in order to do so.

While fans praised Joe Quesada's artwork within the pages of the 'Brand New Day' comics, many were infuriated by the decision to wipe out decades of history between Peter and Mary Jane. Others called the story "downright disrespectful" and that it not only "undermined" Spider-Man lore, but also went against everything the hero, plus the wider themes at play throughout his illustrious history, stood for.

Fortunately, it's incredibly unlikely that 'Brand New Day' will be adapted ad verbatim for Spider-Man 4. No Way Home was only loosely inspired by 'One More Day', so I expect Brand New Day to eschew much of its comic book namesake's story to tell an original tale instead. Now, about the character that Sadie Sink is reportedly going to play in Spider-Man 4, Sony and Marvel...

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