7 Best Theories About Spider-Man 5 After Brand New Day's Ending

Published Nov 8, 2026, 5:01 PM EST Katrina joined ScreenRant as a news writer in 2024, covering box office, expert interviews, exclusives, and new releases. Her work has appeared in CBR, All About Jazz, Rising Artists, and numerous other publications. She has an MFA in Creative Writing and has published more than 20 books. She currently writes for ScreenRant’s movie features team. Since Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrived in theaters this summer, fans have been pitching ideas for a fifth installment. Theories about what the next Spider-Man movie could be about have flooded online forums and social media. While a fifth movie hasn't been officially confirmed yet, Brand New Day's success and the enthusiasm of stars, producers, studio heads, and fans make a follow-up seem like a no-brainer. Spider-Man: Brand New Day's ending teases a small fracture in Doctor Strange's memory-wiping spell after Sadie Sink's Jean Grey freezes everyone inside a gigantic psychic bubble. However, the fifth movie's plot will also be determined by how it'll fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe's release slate. The fifth Spider-Man movie doesn't yet have a slot on Marvel's schedule, but with Secret Wars coming in December 2027 and three more movies scheduled for 2028, there are several directions Spider-Man 5 could take beyond Phase 6. MJ And Ned Get Their Memories Back There are several clues that indicate MJ and Ned might be slowly recovering their memories. On the roof of Midtown School of Science, a place that holds special meaning for her and Peter in Spider-Man: No Way Home, MJ touches the necklace Peter bought her in Venice during Spider-Man: Far From Home. It's also possible that Jean Grey's psychic freeze may have helped them recover memories affected by Doctor Strange's spell, and we do see MJ shed tears during this. While it's unclear how much she remembers, Brand New Day brings her back into Peter’s life. Much like MJ, Ned also shows signs of remembering Peter. He performs their secret handshake from muscle memory in the very last scene and seems to realize something about Peter before the movie cuts to the credits. Again, Brand New Day leaves that moment open for interpretation, but all signs point to Tom Holland's friendly neighborhood hero getting his best friends back in the next Spider-Man installment. However, it's unlikely for the studio to undo the spell on a global scale. If everyone got their memories back, it would essentially reset the storyline to the beginning of No Way Home and create an even bigger mess in the MCU's timeline. Spider-Man Enters Stage Three Brand New Day revolves around a particularly vulnerable time in Peter's life. After losing Aunt May and being completely forgotten by the rest of the world, Peter becomes increasingly isolated while continuing to fight crime and protect New York City. The film explains that a spider's life cycle consists of three stages of development: egg, spiderling, and adult. Chronic isolation and traumatic events could trigger change, which is what happened to Peter in Brand New Day. By the end of the movie, he has not only developed the ability to produce his own webbing, but has also entered Stage Two with heightened senses and greater strength. Peter’s evolution feels refreshing because up until Brand New Day, no previous Spider-Man movie had explored the idea of the Earth-based hero receiving natural upgrades after the initial spider bite. Even before Brand New Day came out, fans were already speculating that the fourth movie could adapt "The Other" storyline from the comic, in which Peter gained new powers after undergoing a stress-induced biological transformation. With the introduction of a spider's three-stage life cycle, it's very possible that the MCU might not be done with the idea. Peter's evolution might not stop at Brand New Day. Spider-Man 5 could give Spider-Man another upgrade as he enters Stage Three and reaches full maturity. Spider-Man 5 Adapts The Symbiote Saga Via MovieStillsDB Spider-Man: Brand New Day's post-credits scene teases that the next chapter of Spider-Man's journey could take place in space. With Holland's character returning to the MCU in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, fans speculate that Peter could encounter the alien symbiote on Battleworld by the time he appears in Spider-Man 5. The Symbiote Saga is a classic storyline in Spider-Man's publication history that explores addiction, the corrupting nature of power, and loss of control. The storyline has been adapted in both the Tobey Maguire trilogy and Spider-Man: The Animated Series. In the comics, the storyline is directly tied to the Secret Wars events and the creation of Venom. It almost seems inevitable for the MCU's Spider-Man movies to include it at some point. No Way Home's mid-credits scene even hints that the symbiote could return when Doctor Strange's spell pulls Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and Venom into the MCU. While they were sent home before they could meet Holland's Spider-Man, a small, living drop of the black symbiote remained in the MCU. Peter Parker Takes On A Mentor Role For Miles Morales Tom Holland has expressed interest in bringing Miles Morales into the MCU, who stars in Sony’s Oscar-winning animated Spider-Verse movies. Inspired by a campaign to be Spider-Man, Miles could bring a new generation of Spider-Man stories to the MCU. In an interview with 1Live, Holland teased that he "knows the answer" when asked about Miles' potential debut in the MCU. In a separate interview about Miles Morales's future in the MCU, the actor teased that he has been working on it. He's also expressed interest in seeing his Peter Parker mentor Miles, much as Tony Stark mentored Peter. "I have aspirations to bring Miles Morales into the universe… We’ve got a lot of work to do to bring that to life. But I feel really strongly about it." With Holland's Spider-Man beginning to come out of isolation by the end of Brand New Day, the fifth installment seems like a natural place to introduce Miles Morales. Spider-Man 5 Adapts The Clone Saga One of the wildest Spider-Man 5 fan theories suggests the next film could adapt the Clone Saga. The infamous comic book storyline follows Peter Parker as he battles his clones and faces off against the Jackal (Professor Miles Warren). In the original 1975 storyline, the Jackal becomes obsessed with Peter and Gwen and creates clones of them. The story culminates in The Amazing Spider-Man #149, where Peter fights his clone and destroys it in an incinerator. Marvel Comics revived the storyline in the 1990s and dragged it through a multi-year run, which received backlash from fans. Scratch & Peek Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as possible. While there's currently no indication that Marvel Studios plans to adapt the Clone Saga for the big screen, Sony Pictures and Amazon MGM Studios are developing a live-action series based on the storyline. Spider-Man 5 Rewrites Peter's Origin Story The MCU's Spider-Man movies never showed how Holland's Peter Parker gained his powers on screen. When Peter made his MCU debut in Avengers: Civil War, he’d had his powers for six months. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, he briefly mentioned to Ned that the spider that bit him was dead. While this confirms that Peter was bitten by a spider, Spider-Man 5 could offer a different explanation for his power origin. With the introduction of Jean Grey, the latest Spider-Man movie serves as a soft launch for the X-Men in the MCU. While Peter's DNA was mutated after the spider bite in the traditional lore, the theory suggests that Marvel could potentially change Peter's origin story and make him a mutant who was born with a dormant X-gene. In that case, the spider would serve as a catalyst that activated his abilities, which could explain why he began to transform and develop an organic web and why he is unaffected by Jean Grey's psychic power. Some also speculate that Spider-Man 5 could include more crossover between Holland's Peter Parker and the X-Men. Ned Leeds Becomes The Antagonist The theory that Ned Leeds could become a villain predates Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In No Way Home, Ned revealed that magic runs in his family as he was able to use a Sling Ring to open portals. In the latest movie, he operates SpideyTracker, an app that tracks Spider-Man's movements, leading fans to wonder if Ned will eventually break bad. The theory does have roots in the comics. Spider-Man's best friend was famously unmasked as the Hobgoblin in The Amazing Spider-Man #289, though Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives revealed that Ned was actually brainwashed and framed by the real Hobgoblin (Roderick Kingsley). The original Spider-Man trilogy also includes a version of the Spider-Man best friend villain arc when Harry Osborn turned out to be the Goblin. While it's hard to imagine Jacob Batalon's Ned Leeds as a villain, it's certainly one of the many possible directions future films could take. Source: 1Live Release Date July 31, 2026 Runtime 145 minutes Director Destin Daniel Cretton Cast Peter Parker / Spider-Man Four years after No Way Home, Peter Parker lives alone, forgotten by everyone he loves, and devotes himself entirely to being Spider-Man.