Sony Pictures executive Amy Pascal has revealed that the team is taking a page from Spider-Man: No Way Home's book with its approach to Sadie Sink's character in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Since it was confirmed that Sink would be appearing in Tom Holland's fourth leading Spider-Man film, speculation has been rife about who she might be playing, but even a few weeks out from release, the marketing for Brand New Day has given nothing away.
Sony and Marvel Studios found themselves in a somewhat similar scenario ahead of the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was heavily rumored to feature the return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men. The studios opted to ignore the rumors and keep it a surprise until Spider-Man: No Way Home was released in cinemas, which ultimately did confirm Maguire and Garfield's return.
With Spider-Man: Brand New Day now in a similar pickle over the identity of Sink's character, Pascal revealed in the latest issue of SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar) that their approach mirrors how they handled Maguire and Garfield's returns. Pascal admitted Maguire and Garfield were "the worst-kept secret in Hollywood," but they decided to "[pretend] not to know."
"When we had the three Spideys in the last movie, and it was the worst-kept secret in Hollywood, everybody sort of pretended not to know, but knew."
The executive added they wanted to give audiences "shock and awe and surprise," when they see Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and therefore have been "really disciplined" in how much they reveal about Sink's character:
"I think people love to be surprised. They don’t really want to know everything. They want the experience of what movies give you, which is shock and awe and surprise. So I think in the same way that we’ve been really disciplined, I think that’s what the audience is also craving."
At this point, while Sink has been involved in some of the press tour for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, she's been prohibited from saying anything about her character, and her face hasn't been featured in any of the marketing for the movie.
The prevailing theory is that Sink is portraying the MCU's version of the X-Men hero, Jean Grey, but even if that turns out to be true, Sony seems to have no plans to further elaborate on her character in the lead-up to the movie's release, keeping it a mystery as audiences head to theaters.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day features the return of Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon, along with MCU stars Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk and Jon Bernthal as the Punisher. The film, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, releases on July 31st.
Will Sony's Sadie Sink Spider-Man Strategy Pay Off?
Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are no strangers to keeping secrets, but they've been hit-or-miss with the payoff. However, in the case of Spider-Man: No Way Home, even though many went in with theories regarding Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's appearances, it didn't lessen the impact when they reappeared on-screen.
It seems Sony is relying on a similar strategy with Sadie Sink's character, leaning into the possibility that Sink is playing someone like Jean Grey, which ultimately makes her reveal feel satisfying for those in the know and still surprising for those going in without any knowledge of the rumors.
On top of that, knowing Sink's character is only one part of the equation; the real question is how the film plans to use her. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Maguire and Garfield's return was only one piece of the puzzle; it was their emotional arcs within the story were even more surprising and satisfying.
Assuming Sink is playing Jean Grey, the mind-controlling mutant is hinted at as being something of a villain to Spider-Man in Brand New Day's marketing, which would be an intriguing way to introduce the X-Men hero into the MCU. How exactly the movie uses Jean and what it sets up for the X-Men's future is arguably even more exciting than discovering the character's identity.
Therefore, it feels appropriate that Sony is opting to ignore the rumors around Sink's character and keep these secrets close to the chest until Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters.
