Two of The Marquette Gazette editors had differing opinions on the summer’s biggest movie: Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This article consists of both of their thoughts on the movie, which surprisingly do not center around Spider-Man but rather the casting of Sadie Sink.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
By Piper Karrenbrock
Social media is currently blowing up with reactions and feedback toward the latest Spider-Man movie, Brand New Day, released July 31, 2026, and starring iconic Tom Holland and Zendaya. Opinions are mixed, and from what’s been seen through the grapevine, it is mainly due to Sadie Sink and her portrayal of original X-Men member Jean Grey.
The movie itself mainly follows Peter Parker and his currently non-existent relationship with MJ, as everyone’s memory was wiped of his identity in the past movie. Frank Castle, or the Punisher, played by renowned The Walking Dead star Jon Bernthal, serves as comedic relief throughout the movie, easing the tension as Jean Grey’s identity is teased until about halfway through the film.
While many can’t seem to agree on their opinion of Stranger Things star Sadie Sink, I found myself pleasantly surprised. I went into the theater having doubts about how she would portray Jean Grey, partially because I am not a big fan of Sadie Sink, and left happy. While I can’t imagine her as an older Jean Grey, I do enjoy her casting as Jean throughout her teen years. I really enjoyed the exploration of recreating friendships with Ned and MJ, and found myself crying over their interactions numerous times. I also enjoyed the choreography for when Jean would hop between citizens’ minds, as it was a nice representation of telepathy that didn’t make me cringe, as telepathy in live-action movies is hit or miss.
I think this film set the stage phenomenally for the future rebrand of the X-Men, and I am so excited to see how it will progress.
Your Evil Neighborhood Spider-Man
By Joe Ewers
Recently, I was dragged to the theatre because all my friends were dying to see Spiderman Brand New Day. I bought my tickets online the day of, and I barely made the cut as nearly every seat was filled. Nerds like my friends took up the whole theatre and made it reek with their green aura.
The first scene opens up with Peter Parker listening to the voice recordings of the letter he wrote to MJ. Then it’s him swinging around fighting crime, him doing more moping about MJ, and we get introduced to some of his new equipment which he had to DIY since he was cut off from Stark. We also see his first headache, which tells the audience something else is coming.
We also get introduced to a new villain, Jean Gray, who is from X-Men, and she is played by Sadie Sink. I think I would’ve liked this movie 10x better if she did not play Jean Gray. If you would’ve told me that her scene in the park where she’s running was from Stranger Things, I would’ve believed you.
For someone who does not keep up with Marvel, the whole reason I did not like this movie was because this just looked like a Stranger Things reboot. They gave Sadie Sink telepathic powers, made her run up that hill, and kill people. The only good thing about this movie was seeing Tom Holland shirtless.
I like spiderman