Tom Holland revealed Spider-Man's biggest fear, and it hits harder following the tragic fate of Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The 2021 MCU blockbuster shocked everyone when May was killed by Green Goblin after impaling her while she was trying to help Peter during a pivotal confrontation. In her dying moments, May delivered a heartfelt speech to Peter that echoed the iconic "With great power comes great responsibility" mantra, encouraging him to be the hero who saves everyone rather than taking a vengeful path. At the end of No Way Home, Peter decided to make a sacrifice by allowing Doctor Strange's spell to erase any memory of him in the world.
In a new promo for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Tom Holland confirmed that Spider-Man's bigger fear is losing his sense of self, especially now that one of his emotional anchors, Aunt May, is gone.
"Not only is everyone else gonna forget who Peter Parker is, but Peter Parker is gonna forget who Peter Parker is. And that is his biggest fear, because that is the only thing that links him to the love of his life, his best friend, his aunt that sacrificed everything for him."
Following the game-changing ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Brand New Day is set to explore what happens when Peter fully leans into the "Spider-Man only" life, mainly because he has no other connection after losing everyone due to Doctor Strange's spell.
It seems that external forgetting is further compounded by internal forgetting, and Peter begins to lose himself and completely abandon the civilian side of his identity. Without May as his anchor, the remaining human connections (to MJ and Ned) become even more fragile and challenging to keep.
The psychological toll of suppressing his humanity and the stress of his choice led to unusual physical transformations, completely changing him from within (which explains the organic webbing and the formation of his webbed cocoon).
In the same promo, Tom Holland praised director Destin Daniel Cretton for leaning towards a more mature story for Peter Parker, noting that Spider-Man: Brand New Day explores deeper emotional territory than the previous trilogy while still delivering the fun spectacle fans expect.
"He kind of starts the film with this mindset of, he has to push Peter Parker to one side and allow Spider-Man to take up his entire existence. And that creates a pressure and a stress... So, that, to me, is a really strong emotional drive for a character to follow, and I was just really happy that Destin [Daniel Cretton] was willing to tell something that is a little more mature, and a little more complicated."
Watch the full Spider-Man: Brand New Day promo here:
Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in US theaters on July 31. The film will premiere early in some international territories, like the Philippines and the United Kingdom, on July 29.
Aunt May's Death Is Still An Important Part of Spider-Man: Brand New Day - Here's Why
Aunt May's death in Spider-Man: No Way Home stripped Peter of his last parental figure and forced him to confront the consequences of his choices.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to take Peter's grief and isolation even further, serving as a natural and deeply personal evolution for the character. In essence, Aunt May's death becomes the emotional foundation for everything Peter faces in the film.
May's influence lingers in Brand New Day, both as a guiding light and a painful void. May is even confirmed to appear in the film, either as a flashback or a vision sequence that could help Peter regain his sense of self amid the troubling things happening around him.
As Peter pushes his civilian identity aside, May's memory stands as one of the last threads tying him to his humanity. Highlighting May in Brand New Day would give Peter a poignant reminder of who he's fighting to protect.
This storytelling strategy allows Brand New Day to feel like a true continuation rather than a bold reset. May may be gone in the MCU, but her love and influence continue to shape Spider-Man in compelling ways, and this is what Peter needs to finally move forward and fully accept his new normal.
