According to Spider-Man star Tom Holland, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is on its way to fixing one of the biggest issues fans had with 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home. No Way Home still reigns as the MCU's most successful solo movie to date, wowing audiences with its story and nearly grossing $2 billion at the box office. However, for all of that threequel's successes (and there were plenty), Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are looking to improve on those efforts.
Spider-Man's leading actor, Tom Holland, shared that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will lean toward shooting in real-world locations. Production for Spider-Man: No Way Home took place almost entirely on soundstages, lasting through the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic from November 2020 to March 2021. Now, nearly five years after that experience, the world is in a different place, giving the studios next to no restrictions for what they want to do with filming.
Speaking with Flip Your Wig, Holland commented that he and the team were "really restricted with what [they] could do with the last movie" due to the pandemic. He then confirmed that this movie will allow production to "really gonna lean into that old-school filmmaking" by using real-world locations for shooting.
The MCU veteran touched on Spider-Man: Homecoming for comparison, saying how long it had been since this happened and that fans should be "over the moon with what [they're] putting together:"
"I'm obviously over the moon and so excited. Playing Spider-Man was like hanging out with an old pal, and I think…we were really restricted with what we could do with the last movie because of COVID. We shot the entire thing on stages. Now, we're really gonna lean into that old-school filmmaking and shoot in real locations, which is why we're shooting in Glasgow, we’re gonna use the streets of Glasgow for this massive set piece that we're putting together. So, it's gonna feel like making 'Spider-Man [:Homecoming]' again, you know, it's been such a long time since I've done it. It’s gonna feel like a breath of fresh air, and I think the fans are gonna be over the moon with what we're putting together."
Spider-Man 4 is in the early stages of shooting. Reports have already teased an explosive scene being shot for the movie in the UK, but no plot details regarding what's happening during the scene have been revealed. Shooting is expected to last through most of the year, with more news on its cast and story expected to come through news reports in that time.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to be the second movie in the MCU's Phase 6 slate, following up on Spider-Man's adventures after the multiverse tore open for the first time in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Sadie Sink, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, and Liza Colón-Zayas, directed by Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton. Spider-Man: Brand New Day will debut in theaters on July 31, 2026.
How Shooting Change Will Fix No Way Home Issues
Outside of just Spider-Man: No Way Home, almost everything produced in the early stages of the MCU's Multiverse Saga had to deal with production issues brought on by the pandemic.
This limited the studio to shooting on soundstages, green screens, and using The Volume; however, while those practices eased the burden on filmmakers without access to real-world locales, they removed much of the spectacular visuals and feeling of reality these films have become known for.
While the UK is being used to replicate New York City, it will still give the movie the sense of realism from its set that was sorely missing in No Way Home. For everything that movie delivered in terms of using iconic characters from past Spider-Man outings, having to shoot it in the pandemic took away Marvel and Sony's abilities to bring many of those actors to set together (or at all).
Considering Spider-Man 4 could potentially bring the multiverse back into play, shooting in practical locations will only add that much more excitement to the cast and story that this film will bring to the spotlight.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
