Star Wars Plays A Strangely Important Role In Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Published Aug 2, 2026, 10:40 AM EDT George is a film critic and journalist with over nine years of experience in the entertainment industry. Beginning as the Co-Creator and Co-Editor of Star Wars Holocron, the most followed Star Wars fan account on Twitter/X, George went on to develop The HoloFiles, a movie and television-focused website with his brother and writing partner Josh. A member of the Hollywood Creative Alliance, Chicago Indie Critics, Online Film and Television Association, and the Internet Film Critic Society, George has covered major industry events as credentialed media, including D23, CinemaCon, SXSW, Fantastic Fest, Star Wars Celebration, Tribeca Festival, and more. He also regularly writes reviews and contributes articles to ScreenAnarchy, BRWC, Film Obsessive, TV Obsessive, and Under the Radar. George's work has been featured in various esteemed publications, including the BBC, Associated Press, Forbes, and The New York Times. For decades, Star Wars and Spider-Man have stood as two of the most popular entertainment franchises in the world. Despite occupying different corners of popular culture, both series have built passionate fanbases by pairing larger-than-life spectacle with deeply human storytelling. Therefore, it is fitting that Spider-Man: Brand New Day finds an unexpectedly meaningful way to intertwine the two properties. Spider-Man: Brand New Day follows Peter Parker (Tom Holland) years after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Doctor Strange’s memory wipe spell has made it such that MJ (Zendaya), Ned (Jacob Batalon), and everyone else in the universe has forgotten about the existence of Peter Parker. This leaves the titular hero in a place of immense anguish as she battles loneliness and the yearning to rebuild the most important relationships in his life. As Brand New Day unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that Star Wars occupies a surprisingly meaningful place within the film's story, and the MCU Spider-Man movies more broadly. Rather than existing as a throwaway reference, it plays into one of the movie's most emotionally resonant ideas while continuing a storytelling tradition that stretches back decades. It's an unexpected connection between two of cinema's biggest franchises—and one that gives a familiar piece of pop culture a far greater purpose than audiences might initially expect. LEGO Star Wars Is A Representation Of Peter And Ned's Friendship When Peter unexpectedly crashes MJ and Ned's housewarming party in the first act of Brand New Day, he stumbles into Ned's room, where a large board covered in newspaper clippings and photographs documenting Spider-Man sightings immediately catches his attention. Sitting beside the investigation board is a table displaying a LEGO Chewbacca mini-figure. Peter quietly picks up the figure and smiles, creating one of the film's most understated yet heartfelt moments without saying a single word. The significance of the toy stretches far beyond this single scene. LEGO Star Wars has quietly become a recurring symbol of Peter and Ned's friendship throughout the MCU Spider-Man trilogy. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Ned excitedly holds a LEGO Emperor Palpatine mini-figure while asking Peter if they'll finally build the enormous LEGO Death Star together. It's an innocent exchange that perfectly captures their shared enthusiasm and genuine friendship. That callback becomes even more poignant after the heartbreaking conclusion of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Once Doctor Strange's spell causes the entire universe to forget Peter Parker, Peter returns to his apartment and places a lone Palpatine mini-figure on his dresser. The small toy becomes a silent reminder of the friendship that still exists in Peter's memories, even if Ned can no longer remember it. Brand New Day builds upon that emotional foundation by replacing LEGO Palpatine with Chewbacca and cementing the fact that LEGO Star Wars has evolved into a visual shorthand for Peter and Ned's bond. Without a single line of exposition, audiences immediately understand why Peter smiles. He's holding a piece of the life he lost. Brand New Day's Endowed Object Draws Influence From Movie Classics Film history is filled with endowed objects, ordinary items that gain tremendous emotional significance through the stories surrounding them. These objects often become just as memorable as the characters themselves as they embody love, loss, hope, or memory in a tangible form. Rather than simply serving as props, they become emotional anchors that audiences instantly associate with a movie's central themes. Some of cinema's greatest examples of endowed objects illustrate just how effective this technique can be. The snow globe in Citizen Kane encapsulates an entire lifetime of longing and lost innocence. Wilson, the volleyball in Cast Away, transforms into Chuck Noland's closest companion during his isolation. Meanwhile, the girl in the red coat in Schindler's List provides one of the film's most haunting visual symbols, focusing the unimaginable scale of tragedy into a single unforgettable image. Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues this longstanding cinematic tradition by giving LEGO Star Wars similar narrative importance and emotional weight. The mini-figures themselves are inexpensive and unremarkable toys, yet within Peter Parker's story they represent years of friendship, happier times, and the devastating consequences of Doctor Strange's spell. Every appearance of LEGO Star Wars items builds upon previous films, allowing a simple mini-figure to carry an emotional weight that far exceeds its physical value. It's a subtle storytelling choice, yet one that immediately captures the beating heart of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Spider-Man: Brand New Day 7/10 Release Date July 31, 2026 Runtime 145 Minutes Director Destin Daniel Cretton Writers Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee Producers Amy Pascal, Kevin Feige, Rachel O'Connor, Avi Arad Prequel(s) Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home Cast Spider-Man / Peter Parker Four years after No Way Home, Peter Parker lives alone, forgotten by everyone he loves, and devotes himself entirely to being Spider-Man. As crime escalates, he experiences a dangerous physical change that threatens his survival while a mysterious surge in criminal activity introduces a powerful new enemy.