Zendaya is barely in Spider-Man: Brand New Day and that’s a good thing
Zendaya will return as MJ inSpider-Man: Brand New Day, but don’t expect her to have a “substantial” role.
In No Way Home, in a desperate bid to close the multiversal rift that was sending all sorts of wild enemies to the main MCU universe, Doctor Strange didn’t just make the world forget that Peter Parker isSpider-Man– by the end, everyone forgets who he is, including Ned and MJ.
In one of the closing scenes, Peter went to MJ’s coffee shop. He clearly planned to try and make her remember him, but he thought better of it. Instead, he took his coffee, smiled, and told her he’d “see her around” (but there’ssomethingin her reaction; a flicker of her memory, perhaps).
If you’re expecting Peter to keep pursuing MJ in Brand New Day, think again.Zendaya is confirmed to return, but we won’t see her that much.
Zendaya will have a small but important role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
According toinsider Daniel Richtman, Zendaya is currently in Glasgow, Scotland, “to support Tom Holland but [she] won’t be filming any scenes there for the movie.”
“Still, she plays an important role in the film, even if her screen time isn’t substantial.”
This is exactly how things should be. Zendaya should make an appearance (it’d be weird if it ditched the love of Peter Parker’s life), but her role shouldn’t be in the same capacity as the other films. Peter was forced to make a huge sacrifice in No Way Home; he let go of everything to save the world, and as Strange said, in the eyes of literally everyone, it’s as if he never existed.
For the first time in the MCU, we’ll get to see Holland’s Spider-Man being a friendly neighborhood superhero, rather than an Avenger. He should be broke, a bit unhappy, and dedicated (perhaps to a fault) to fighting crime across New York City.
That doesn’t mean he won’t pine after MJ, though, and it seems unlikely that it won’t be undone eventually (whether MJ remembers him, he gets some help from Strange, or they simply strike up a new relationship remains to be seen).
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“My guess is that MJ forgetting Peter will loom over him for most of the movie and she won’t actually appear until near the end, where he’ll make the first steps to try and reconnect with her,” one userpredicted.
“I always pictured that bookending the movie and the ending being like Homecoming with MJ finding him and telling him she remembers. I don’t think they’re gonna let that go on for more than one movie,” anotherwrote.
Plus, Zendaya has other stuff on her plate to be getting on with; namely,Euphoria Season 3,Dune Part 3,The Odyssey, andShrek 5.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released on July 01, 2025. In the meantime, check out our rundown ofevery upcoming MCU movie,our ranking of the MCU movies, and find out what else is dropping this year with our2025 movie calendar.
