By George & Josh Bate
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is finally swinging into theaters and, at last, answers questions that have lingered long in the minds of Spidey fans.
As is often the case in Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, the titular hero is often far from the only major comic book character to appear, and Brand New Day is no exception in this regard. Yes, there’s Spider-Man, MJ, The Punisher, Hulk, and more, but director Destin Daniel Cretton’s film also features a number of surprise appearances and cameos. Here’s a breakdown of them all…..
Zabryna Guevara as Mayor Sheila Rivera
Zabryna Guevara played Sheila Rivera, assistant to Mayor Wilson Fisk in Daredevil: Born Again. Now that Fisk has resigned as mayor and left New York City to live in exile, the position of mayor is left vacant.
Sheila Rivera has assumed this role and is seen early on in Brand New Day in a picture with Spider-Man as she grants the masked hero a key to the city.
Michael Mando as Mac Gargan / Scorpion
It’s been nine years since Michael Mando appeared in the MCU and he finally makes his return in Brand New Day.
This time around, Mando gets to wear the Scorpion costume and put up an actual fight against Spidey.
Marvin Jones III as Lonnie Lincoln / Tombstone
In a montage at the beginning of the film, Lonnie Lincoln / Tombstone is seen holding Spider-Man by the neck over a building. Spider-Man exchanges a few quippy words with the notorious crime boss before apprehending him.
This marks Tombstone’s second live-action appearance in just a few months. Abraham Popoola played the character in Prime Video’s Spider-Noir series.
Naomi Watts as E.V.I.E.
Spider-Man receives assistance from an AI named E.V.I.E., who just so happens to be voiced by two-time Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts.
Brand New Day marks Watts’ first appearance in a comic book movie since the 1995 cult film Tank Girl.
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
Florence Pugh appears in two scenes of Brand New Day, reprising her role as Yelena Belova. The first scene occurs early in the film as Spider-Man seeks out the leader of The New Avengers to consult on the mysterious mind-hopping villain targeting Damage Control facilities.
Yelena invites Spider-Man to her “base,” which is a Russian bath house. She waits for him in a warm bath tube and refuses to speak with Spidey until he comes into the water. Spider-Man reluctantly agrees, stripping off his clothes but keeping on his mask and underwear. After meeting Yelena’s dress code, she speaks with him about his problems are “small potatoes” and that the issues The New Avengers tackle are “big potatoes.” As such, she is not willing to help him fight the new bad guy on the scene.
However, she does offer a valuable piece of intel: that whoever is attacking Damage Control facilities is using their servers to look up the term “VMax.” Eventually, we discover that these are the letters inscribed on the air conditioning unit in Sarah Grey’s cell (more on that in a minute).
Yelena’s second scene occurs later in the film. She chats with Spider-Man over video chat and remarks that she’s happy “the sad man has friends” as MJ and Ned come into view.
Eman Esfandi as The Boyfriend
Eman Esfandi, who plays Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka, pops up for a single scene as MJ’s boyfriend. His character is not given a name and is just credited as “The Boyfriend.”
While a seemingly minor role, it is The Boyfriend who kicks off Spider-Man’s evolution in powers. After watching MJ and The Boyfriend exchange a kiss at a party, Peter’s mental health reaches a new low, which, in turn, manifests physiologically in the form of elevated levels of arachnid hormones. This is an inversion of a similar plot line from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. In that film, Peter undergoes a mental health crisis related to the love of his life and subsequently loses his powers. In Brand New Day, Peter undergoes a mental health crisis related to the love of his life and subsequently gains powers.
Marisa Tomei as Aunt May
Marisa Tomei reprises her role as May Parker for two scenes that play key roles in the film. Early on, a flashback shows Peter sitting on his bed with his Spidey suit on and his mask off. May sits next to her nephew on the bed as he appears overwhelmed and discouraged. She offers him kind words and support, validating Peter’s anxiety and stress that comes with being Spider-Man.
Later in the film, Peter allows Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey (again, more on that in a minute) to enter his mind. In doing so, Jean finds herself in the memory of May supporting Peter while he sits on his bed. But now, Jean takes Peter’s place and, in turn, receives motherly guidance and warmth. This is notable as Jean and Sara Grey’s mother abandoned them when they began to show that they had powers. Jean longingly looks at a mother and young daughter in the park at one point in the film as she yearns for a supportive parental bond that she never had.
Despite featuring in just two scenes, Marisa Tomei once again plays a key role in the emotional anchor point of a Spider-Man movie. She occupied this role in No Way Home when May was killed and she occupies it once again as she proves critical to redeeming Jean Grey.
Keith David as Narrator of Spider Video
The unmistakable voice of Keith David can be heard as the narrator of a YouTube documentary Peter watches about spiders. His voice is muffled and in the background, but it is clear that it is The Thing actor who is speaking.
David can be heard more clearly and extensively in the trailer for the film.
Sadie Sink as Jean Grey
After immense speculation online, it is finally confirmed that Sadie Sink plays Jean Grey in Brand New Day. This reveal comes around the midway point of the film, after Peter uses face-tracking technology to match a picture he took of Jean with her identity in a database. Peter is perplexed as to why all evidence of her existence has been scrubbed online, only later to find out that Damage Control is heavily invested in bringing her in and running experiments on her so that they can replicate her telepathic powers.
Meanwhile, Jean’s primary motivation in the film revolves around being reunited with her sister Sara, who Damage Control has kidnapped to run similar experiments on.
Olivia Booth-Ford as Sara Grey
Olivia Booth-Ford plays Jean Grey’s sister Sara in a flashback sequence which depicts her character being kidnapped in a park by operatives working for Damage Control.