Spider-Man: Brand New Day will usher in a new era for the popular Marvel Universe character, but there have been several events from the recent Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again that seem impossible to ignore in setting up the new film. With a powerful finale in Daredevil: Born Again and the setup for major changes concerning how vigilantes operate in the city, it feels absolutely necessary that Born Again‘s story will impact Spider-Man 4. Still, after recent comments by Vincent D’Onofrio, the connections between the projects remain in question.
Many hoped that Spider-Man would appear in Daredevil: Born Again, and for good reason. Daredevil and Spider-Man share a location in New York City and have often been seen working together in comic books. In addition, Matt Murdock cameoed in Spider-Man: No Way Home, setting up a relationship between the characters. While everyone has since forgotten Peter Parker due to the events of that film, it seemed the franchise was setting up for stronger connections between the heroes, which has only grown more true.
Spider-Man’s Lack Of Appearance In Daredevil: Born Again Suggested The Two Storylines Would Have No Crossover
Tom Holland’s Peter Parker Did Not Appear In The Disney+ Series
Unfortunately, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker did not appear in Daredevil: Born Again. The character was given a brief Spider-Man mention in an early episode, with Fisk announcing to New York that “We don’t need a gun-toting vigilante who wears a skull on his chest, or a man who dresses in a spider outfit.” Especially combined with references to the Punisher, who did appear in the series, this mention feels especially strange considering Spider-Man’s absence from the show.
With the complicated Spider-Man rights, it then seemed that the MCU was not planning to connect Spider-Man with Daredevil: Born Again. The series is a street-level, self-contained story that explores many of the connections to Daredevil’s Netflix series. With a familiar cast of characters and only tangential links to the larger MCU, especially with the appearance of Ms. Marvel’s father, the program was not set up to affect Spider-Man in any meaningful ways.
The Events Of Daredevil: Born Again’s Season 1 Finale Makes It Hard For Spider-Man: Brand New Day To Ignore It
Daredevil’s Season Finale Set Up Some Mᴀssive Changes To New York City
Much of the importance of the show’s links to Spider-Man was not made apparent until the season 1 finale of Daredevil: Born Again. The episode saw Mayor Fisk taking drastic action and placing New York City under martial law to ᴀssist in his fight against the vigilantes in the city. In response, Daredevil began to put together a new task force of his own to fight against these oppressive powers. These are enormous events that seem like they will be necessary to future events of any New York-set Marvel stories.
Cracking down on vigilante justice and declaring martial law in the city creates oppressive circumstances that would be hard to avoid in Spider-Man stories.
With Thunderbolts* occurring largely in the city, it will be interesting to see how these events affect other characters in the MCU. However, that group has ties to the government and will likely not be as directly affected as someone like Spider-Man would be. Cracking down on vigilante justice and declaring martial law in the city creates oppressive circumstances that would be hard to avoid in Spider-Man stories. These occurrences have been described as a Thanos-like blip, and they could have enormous repercussions on Spider-Man and his next film’s story.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Only Needs To Mirror Daredevil: Born Again’s Spider-Man Reference To Make Its Ties To The Show Work
The New Film Does Not Need To Be About Fisk, But Should Reference Him
In all likelihood, the next Spider-Man film will not be directly impacted by these events. Each of these projects are considered on their own merits to ensure that the story and characters are strong enough to stand on their own. However, the details of Fisk’s takeover of New York City should be addressed in one way or another. This could be done easily, with a simple discussion of what has occurred and how it has affected characters. This does not need to be the focal point of a new Spider-Man story.
With Brand New Day, the Spider-Man franchise seems set to build something new and compelling with the wall-crawler. However, if it is set in New York, there have clearly been strains on Spider-Man’s ability to fight crime in the city. In terms of his character, Spider-Man even feels likely to join Daredevil’s new army, although character rights would complicate that. With a new film that takes place after Avengers: Doomsday, Spider-Man and the broader world of the MCU, may be in an entirely different place by the time the film is released.
The ending of Daredevil: Born Again season 1 set up some incredible stories for season 2 of the show, and it will be so compelling to see whatever impact these stories will have on the larger universe. Daredevil: Born Again is firmly set in the MCU, and that means that the show’s events are important to the franchise as a whole. Looking at the story of Spider-Man: Brand New Day suggests that these details will be necessary in understanding Spider-Man’s experience as a crime fighter in the MCU.
Upcoming MCU Movies
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Thunderbolts*
- Release Date
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday
- Release Date
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May 1, 2026
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- Release Date
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July 31, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027