This story includes spoilers for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
It’s been nearly five years since Spider-Man’s last big-screen adventure, but your friendly neighborhood webslinger is finally back.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” in theaters now, follows a Peter Parker (Tom Holland) who no longer has much of a life outside of his vigilante crime-fighting and keeping tabs on his loved ones (Zendaya, Jacob Batalon) from afar.
The movie’s biggest reveal involves the identity of the villain played by Sadie Sink — and plenty of questions remain about her future and what her appearance means for a certain fan-favorite mutant superhero team.
But although much has changed for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the years since the 2021 release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” one tradition remains: unpacking the meaning of an installment’s post-credits scene.
“Brand New Day” features just one brief end-credits sequence to tease what’s next for Spidey. Here’s how it connects to upcoming MCU installments “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Secret Wars.”
Ned (Jacob Batalon) created the Spidey Tracker app shown in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
(Jay Maidment / Sony Pictures)
What happens in the ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ post-credits scene?
The bonus footage shown after the full credits of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” roll is more of a tease than a proper scene. The brief stinger involves the Spider-Man tracking app created by Ned, which allows users to log any sightings of the webslinger. The Spidey Tracker map screen shown in the post-credits tag at first shows the friendly neighborhood hero’s location as being “unknown” at that moment. The map then zooms out of New York and away from Earth before the Spider-Man icon indicates he has been spotted somewhere in outer space.
Does that mean Spider-Man is returning for ‘Doomsday’?
Maybe! The expansive cast list for “Avengers: Doomsday” includes members of the Avengers past and present, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and many others, but one glaring omission has been Tom Holland as Spider-Man. It’s possible that the secretive Marvel has stayed mum just to keep his appearance a surprise and Spidey will not only appear but also join some of the other heroes — like the Fantastic Four, who have a spaceship — as they venture out to somewhere in space.
It seems unlikely that Marvel would keep Spider-Man’s involvement in “Doomsday” a secret for so long only to spill the beans without fanfare in a brief post-credits stinger, though.
Tom Holland in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
(Sony Pictures)
Will Spider-Man be in ‘Secret Wars’?
Probably? Not much is known about “Doomsday’s” follow-up, “Avengers: Secret Wars,” which is reportedly scheduled to start filming “soon.” Throughout the “Brand New Day” press tour, Holland has maintained that he knows absolutely nothing about the upcoming movie.
But “Secret Wars” gets its name from a couple of Marvel comic book storylines that involve various heroes being pitted against each other. Although MCU works are usually not direct adaptations, Spider-Man was involved in both comic crossovers.
The 2015 “Secret Wars” story featured some plotting by Doctor Doom and saw multiverses collide, be destroyed and merge. During the crossover, the main continuity’s Spider-Man teamed up with another dimension’s Spidey — Miles Morales — who then ended up moving to the main Marvel universe in the event’s aftermath.
Spider-Man also played a part in the very first “Secret Wars” crossover in the 1980s. In this story, various heroes were plucked away from their usual haunts by a mysterious powerful being and pitted against similarly assembled villains (including Doctor Doom). It was during this crossover that Spider-Man first donned the sentient black suit that would become known as Venom.
Both “Secret Wars” series saw characters displaced onto a patchwork planet called Battleworld. The Spidey Tracker info from the “Brand New Day” post-credits scene could be teasing that’s where Spider-Man will eventually land.
What do we know for sure?
“Brand New Day” concludes with the message “Spider-Man will return.” Fans will just have to wait to see when, where and which Spider-Man will be involved.
“Avengers: Doomsday” is slated to hit theaters Dec. 18, while “Secret Wars” is scheduled for a Dec. 17, 2027, release.
