In "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," the latest installment in the web-slinging series, Zendaya's Michelle Jones-Watson has a new beau. It's not that she's dumped her man, Tom Holland's Peter Parker; it's just that she doesn't remember his existence. This is because in the previous "Spider-Man" adventure, "No Way Home," Spider-Man made the difficult decision to erase his identity from the world, causing his girlfriend and best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), to forget about him.
In a new clip that debuted exclusively at CinemaCon on Monday night, Peter finds out the hard way that Michelle has moved on. (He sees her making out with someone at a party.) Holland wasn't at CinemaCon, the annual convention for movie theater owners currently taking place at Caesars Palace, but he appeared via hologram to introduce an extended look at the film. "Peter had to make a sacrifice to make all his friends forget who he is," Holland teased from the stage at the Colosseum. "Here, you'll see some of the consequences of that choice."
As Holland tees up, the sequence begins with Peter Parker at his local bodega as Ned walks in to buy a beer and keg... all without noticing his one-time bestie, who is hunched in the corner. Peter follows Ned to a crowded college party, complete with red solo cups and decorative lights adorning the walls. At the rager, Peter notices that Ned has a conspiracy-esqe corkboard with headlines about the one and only Spider-Man.
"He actually saved me and my friend's lives in high school," Ned tells the stranger (Peter) in his midst. "Ever since, I've been trying to figure out who he is. Not to unmask him to the world, just to thank him."
Ned rattles off the one thing he's certain about the masked hero: "We know he's definitely from Queens..." he says. "I've been able to narrow it down to two prime suspects" before revealing photos of Flash Thompson and Professor Harrington. "If you knew who they were, it would really blow your mind."
Before she starts kissing her new love interest, Michelle interrupts the two men to acknowledge just how many bodies are at their party. "There's like 50 people in our apartment," she says. "Statistically speaking, it means at least two are sociopaths, which is cool."
Peter introduces himself to her as "Maynard" and tells her, "I'm just a neighbor from across the hall." He hands her a small bouquet of flowers, prompting her to say — "friendly neighbor."
"Spider-Man: No Way Home" was one of the first major post-pandemic blockbusters, earning a massive $1.9 billion worldwide. Needless to say, exhibitors are quite excited about the newest adventure. This is the fourth "Spider-Man" with Holland in the Spandex suit. Set four years after the events of the third installment, the film picks up as Peter is living alone, having voluntarily erased himself from the lives and memories of those he loves.
Along with Holland, Zendaya, Batalon, and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, Sadie Sink is joining the cast. Though her role in the film hasn't been established, it's been suggested she could play "X-Men" mutant Jean Grey, a character who has been brought to the screen in the past by Famke Janssen and Sophie Turner.
Destin Daniel Cretton ("Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings") is directing the film, taking over for Jon Watts, who helmed the first three films in the franchise. "Spider-Man 4," which swings to theaters on July 31, is one of two major Marvel movies to debut this year. The other is Disney's "Avengers: Doomsday," which will bring back the kitchen sink of Avengers characters on Dec. 18.
Holland called "Brand New Day" the "most emotional 'Spider-Man' we've ever made. And the most grown-up." Before Sony's chairman, Tom Rothman, introduced the Holland hologram, he celebrated that "Brand New Day" became the most-watched trailer in history with more than 1 billion views in just four days.
"It's as big as anything we've ever made, and yet it feels like nothing we've ever made," Rothman said. "And it has Tom Holland — and I can say this because I've seen the movie — in his finest performance."
