'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Star Admits He Felt 'Horrible' Watching 1 Zendaya Scene In Theaters

An MCU newcomer felt "horrible" watching his memorable scene with Zendaya's MJ in Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures' Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Tom Holland's fourth solo Spider-Man movie was chock-full of major plotlines, largely centered aroundPeter Parker and touching on new players and returning veterans around him. 

Spider-Man: Brand New Day star Eman Esfandi spoke about his reaction to the scene he had with Zendaya's Michelle Jones-Watson, in which he plays MJ's new boyfriend. Speaking with Nerdtropolis, he admitted that he did not realize how important the scene would be, saying that he "felt so bad" to see Peter hurting so much emotionally. As he watched his scene in the trailers and edits, he felt that Peter "must be [at] rock bottom", feeling the weight of his separation from MJ:

Nerdtropolis: "When you read your scene, did you realize how actually important that scene is? How it does change really where the movie takes us because of what Peter witnesses? It really is the reason why one of the reasons why he goes through those changes. Did you realize how important that scene was going to be?"

Esfandi: "No."

Nerdtropolis: "Yeah, 'cause it pushes him."

Esfandi: "I know. I felt so bad, man. I felt horrible. I'm watching thinking, 'This is way worse than I thought.' You know? This is down bad, man. I was like, 'Ooh.' But you kinda get a hint of that in the trailer. As soon as I started seeing it in the trailers, and in the edits, and in the ads, I was like, 'Must be rock bottom,' or something like that, you know? Must be just as important as it is. And I just thought, 'Wow,' kind of. 'What an honor,' honestly."

In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Esfandi had one scene as MJ's boyfriend, who was never officially named in the credits (though subtitles in some countries referred to him as Paul). Esfandi has since debunked that specific character, saying that he is "not, never have been, and never will be 'Paul'" and thanking fans for "defending [his] honor" in the matter.

Esfanfi's character came to the party at MJ and Ned Leeds' (Jacob Batalon) apartment and enjoyed the night with both of them, kissing MJ as the scene closed. Meanwhile, Tom Holland's Peter Parker looked on at them from afar, feeling his heart break before quickly darting out and swinging away. This also came after Peter found the investigative board that Ned had used to try to uncover Spider-Man's identity, leading to Peter's first reunion with Ned and MJ in four years.

Led by Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, and Sadie Sink, Spider-Man: Brand New Day shows Peter Parker in a world that does not know he exists, pitting him against classic villains like the Scorpion while also showing his fight against a never-before-seen supernatural threat.

Eman Esfandi's Potential Future in the MCU

While Eman Esfandi only got one scene in Brand New Day, this leaves the door open for him to potentially come back in a future Spider-Man movie, especially since he was not even named in the credits.

The movie ended on an intriguing note, with Zendaya's MJ looking into the distance from the roof of Midtown Tech and reflecting on her experience with Peter as she touches the Black Dahlia necklace he gave her in Far From Home. While she is still with Esfandi's character at that time, she admits earlier in the movie that he sometimes calls her "withholding" in their relationship during her chat with a masked Peter, setting up some tension between them.

This could eventually lead to Esfandi taking on a more villainous role in later movies, introducing a love triangle (as seen in other recent Spider-related projects). It will also be interesting to see how Peter continues to work his way back into Ned and MJ's lives now that they are so close to Esfandi's character, with Peter hoping to rebuild his identity alongside his old friends.