Joe and Anthony Russo may have introduced Tom Holland’s Peter Parker to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War and put him through the wringer in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but it was Jon Watts who shepherded the character through this franchise’s Spidey trilogy. However, the director decided to sit out the upcoming Marvel movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ Destin Daniel Cretton inherited the helming reins. Now Watts has shared how he expects to feel when he sits down to watch Brand New Day for the first time.
Watts, who most recently produced the 2025 movie release Final Destination: Bloodlines, was asked by Variety if he’s talked with Cretton about his directorial duties on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is slotted on the 2026 movies schedule. He answered:
We talked a little bit at the very, very beginning, but I’m very close to that franchise, so I just had to step back and let everyone do their job. It’s going to be genuinely weird for me going to see that movie for the first time. It’s going to be a really interesting feeling. It’s a passing of the torch and I’m curious to see where it goes.
I can see why he feels that way. After kicking off his feature filmmaking career with Clown (which is being rereleased on 4K Blu-ray) and Cop Car, Jon Watts broke into the mainstream in 2017 with Spider-Man: Homecoming, then returned for Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home. These movies took up over half a decade of his life, and after No Way Home set up a fresh start for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, he decided to step away from the MCU. Granted, there was a period when he was going to direct The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but it was ultimately Matt Shakman who secured that job.
It certainly would have been easy enough for Jon Watts to tell Destin Daniel Cretton what he thought should be done with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Instead, he’s decided to be like the rest of us and go into the upcoming Spider-Man movie and go in blind… mostly. I’m sure he’s privy to a few plot details that are still being kept secret from the public, but for the most part, whether Watts carves out time to see Brand New Day in a theater or waits to view it at home, this will be the first time in a long time that he gets to be surprised by what unfolds in a live-action Spider-Man movie.
Again, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures still haven’t shared anything about Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s story, but it will see Peter Parker clashing with villains like Michael Mando’s Scorpion and Marvin Jones III’s Tombstone, as well as crossing paths with MCU mainstays like Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. Catch it in theaters starting July 31, 2026.
