Marvel may just have shown us exactly how Spider-Man: Brand New Day should open. Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s story is currently in production, set for a July 2026 release date. As one of two major Marvel movies in 2026, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is highly anticipated, especially given the hero’s absence since 2021.

Whether Brand New Day will tie into the story of Avengers: Doomsday or not remains to be seen, but, based on what has been revealed thus far, the film is shaping up to be more street-level than multiversal in scale. This comes after the ending of Fantastic Four: First Steps, which adequately sets up the next Avengers film.

This way, Spidey can have his own story that is mostly removed from the wider MCU, which is something many have desired for a while now. Interestingly, one way to aid this solo story could be included in Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s opening, with Marvel recently proving how well this could work.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Opening Montage Was A Great Way To Flesh Out The Characters

For Several Different Reasons

The opening of Spider-Man: Brand New Day should replicate that of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Fantastic Four: First Steps’ very first scene is great, involving Reed Richards and Sue Storm finding out that the latter is pregnant. That said, it is the following montage section that I believe Spider-Man: Brand New Day could implement.

The montage, in-universe, was part of the Ted Gilbert Show and recapped the four-year history of The Fantastic Four. The team’s origin story was briefly touched on, including their first space trip and how they came back to Earth with superpowers. From then on, the montage showed how the Four have used their powers to protect Earth-828.

This included stopping Fantastic Four villains like Mole Man, Giganto, the Mad Thinker, and Red Ghost. This then made way for several scenes in which the Four used their powers to aid society, including fixing train tracks or saving civilians. The montage even shows Sue forming the Future Foundation, a big part of the team’s comic book history.

This montage proved to be an incredibly effective way to establish The Fantastic Four’s history. The editing was perfect, and the quick pace allowed years’ worth of adventures to be fit into a few minutes, though without feeling rushed.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Needs To Explain Where The Hero Has Been Since No Way Home

The Hero Has Been Absent For A While

Concerning how this links to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the film needs to explain what Peter Parker has been up to for the last few years. His last appearance came in the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which, at the time of Brand New Day‘s release, would be five years prior. Therefore, the MCU needs to explain Spider-Man’s recent absence.

Daredevil: Born Again season 1 made a reference to Spider-Man, which proves the hero is still active in New York City. However, he will not have been actively seen in the aforementioned amount of time when Spider-Man: Brand New Day is released. Herein lies the reason why the film should copy The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ opening montage.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Copying Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Opening Would Be Great For Many Reasons

The Film Could Only Benefit From A Montage Like This

In several ways, Spider-Man: Brand New Day could be improved if it began with a similar montage like Fantastic Four: First Steps did. The first, and most obvious, way is that it will answer the above question by showing what Spider-Man has been up to in the years between Spider-Man: No Way Home and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

This would also allow Spider-Man: Brand New Day to firmly establish the film as a street-level entry to the franchise. Many have been asking for a smaller-scale Spider-Man movie since Spider-Man: Homecoming, given that, since then, the character has been involved in Avengers movies, multiversal plots, or globe-trotting adventures.

In showing a montage of Spider-Man taking down smaller criminals and helping New York, it can reaffirm him as a Friendly Neighborhood hero in the MCU. Like Fantastic Four: First Steps, this could lead to Easter eggs that reference some iconic Spider-Man villains. Of Spidey’s many MCU antagonists, only Vulture and Mysterio have been fully fleshed out.

The villains in Spider-Man: No Way Home were known antagonists from other universes, while secondary bad guys like the Shocker have been underutilized. Via a montage, some of the classic Spider-Man villains from Marvel Comics can be established in the MCU by showing how they have been defeated in the past.

In turn, this would begin Spider-Man: Brand New Day by showing the audience how experienced Spider-Man now is in the MCU. It has been a common criticism that Spider-Man has too often relied on the likes of Tony Stark or other heroes in his past, but this would establish his individual hero skills.

Finally, it would build on Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s ending by showing how much emphasis Peter is placing on being Spider-Man after the world forgot who he was. All of this would benefit the story of Spider-Man: Brand New Day mᴀssively, as well as the character’s depiction in the MCU, with Marvel already proving this via Fantastic Four: First Steps.