Marvel Studios finally told fans what Eman Esfandi's character's name is in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and it turns out he was the very character he claimed not to be. Spider-Man: Brand New Day had one of the most successful theatrical runs of all time. Alongside passing the $2.5 billion mark, which is an amazing feat on its own, the Spidey flick also swung past Star Wars: The Force Awakens to become the highest-grossing movie domestically of all time.
In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Eman Esfandi (who, speaking of Star Wars, plays Ezra Bridger in live-action in the Ahsoka Disney+ series) portrayed MJ's new boyfriend. He only had around a minute of screen time, but he was an important part of the plot, as it proved MJ had replaced Peter Parker (although she can't be blamed for that because she didn't even know who Peter was, thanks to Doctor Strange's spell).
Notably, in the credits of the film, while it was playing in theaters, Esfandi was simply credited as "The Boyfriend" and wasn't given a name. However, Marvel just confirmed that his name is actually Paul, which is ironic, because that is the very name Esfandi himself said did not apply to his Spider-Man character.
Specifically, during the scene in which Esfandi's character appears, the subtitles say that his name is Paul when he speaks. Strangely, this was already pointed out during Brand New Day's theatrical run, as someone in a theater where the movie's subtitles were turned on stated that those subtitles called Esfandi's character Paul.
However, things then got a bit muddled. After that news made its rounds, Esfandi himself took to X to explain that he would "never be 'Paul," and would "never accept that role:"
"I am not, never have been, and never will be 'Paul.' To those of you I saw in the comments defending my honor and saying I’d never accept that role… thank you and MTFBWY."
At that point, it seemed as though there could have been a mistake with the film's closed captions, which happens from time to time in the movie industry. However, Brand New Day was recently released on digital for fans to purchase, and the subtitles still say that Esfandi's character is named Paul.
Now, it is worth noting that, in the credits, Esfandi is still dubbed "Boyfriend," and still not Paul, so there is still a bit of a discrepancy between the subtitles and the credits. However, if Esfandi's character weren't named Paul, one would assume that Marvel would have made sure to correct the subtitles before the film's online release.
Who Is Paul, and Why Does Eman Esfandi Not Want to Play Him?
Based on Eman Esfandi's X post, he absolutely did not want to play a character named Paul in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and acted like he would not have taken the role he did if that character had been named Paul.
Well, according to the subtitles, his character is named Paul, so it seems the very thing he didn't want to happen did. It is possible that it could all be chalked up to a miscommunication between Marvel and Esfandi, and that he truly didn't know that his character's name was Paul. It is also possible that Marvel told Esfandi his character didn't have a name, and that Marvel changed its mind during post-production, leading Esfandi to never be aware of the name change.
No matter what actually happened, the big question many have to be wondering is why Esfandi seems to hate this "Paul" guy so much.
There is a bit of comics history with a guy named Paul and MJ. In one comic storyline, a character named Paul was introduced as a new love interest for MJ. Fans absolutely hated this character, and not because he was written to be unlikable. Many genuonely thought that his inclusion in the story was entirely unnecessary and that he was shoehorned into the story solely to keep MJ and Peter apart.
In other words, he didn't have a narrative purpose and was almost just there to be there. There was no substance to his character. Esfandi likely didn't want to play a character with that type of reputation, and likely didn't want the comics version of that character to translate to the big screen.
