Spider-Man: Brand New Day opened with a record-breaking $72 million in previews, beating Avengers: Endgame, and is tracking toward $875 million at the global box office over its opening weekend, according to reports from Variety and The New York Times. The film also posted a $168 million-plus opening day in the United States alone, according to Deadline.
The film brings Tom Holland back as Peter Parker and appears to be doing more than just telling a Spider-Man story. According to Screen Rant, Brand New Day introduces several key characters and events that directly set up the MCU's eventual X-Men movie, which is currently in development with Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier attached at the helm and an anticipated release date of 2028.
The most significant introduction is Jean Grey, played by Sadie Sink. She appears in the film as a powerful telepath searching for her sister Sara Grey while targeting Damage Control facilities. By the film's end, her abilities have expanded to include telekinesis as well. Jean Grey is a mainstay of the X-Men in Marvel Comics, and while Sink has not yet been officially confirmed for the X-Men feature, her appearance in Brand New Day marks what Screen Rant describes as the MCU's first confirmed X-Men team member.
The film also introduces Bill Metzger, played by Tramell Tillman, as the director of the Department of Damage Control. Metzger starts the film as an apparent ally to Spider-Man before Peter discovers he has been lying to him. The character is the MCU's version of William Metzger from the comics, a figure with a history of rounding up enhanced individuals and testing the limits of their abilities, setting him up as a significant villain for the X-Men going forward.
The groundwork laid by Brand New Day comes at a critical point. With only two Avengers films confirmed ahead of the X-Men movie, Marvel's window to establish mutants in Earth-616 is limited. Ms. Marvel and Namor were among the first mutants introduced in the main MCU timeline, but Brand New Day represents a significant step forward in building the infrastructure for a full X-Men franchise.
The MCU has been working toward this moment since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019, which brought the X-Men rights back under the Marvel Studios umbrella. Kevin Feige and Marvel chose not to rush the introduction, instead seeding mutants gradually across multiple projects before committing to a standalone film.
