Spider-Man: Brand New Day Writers Break Records and Reveal How Jean Grey Became the Story's Missing Piece
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has surpassed Avengers: Endgame for the biggest first week domestically of all time, and the film has amassed $1.68 billion globally since launching on July 31, according to The Hollywood Reporter (THR). Domestic, in industry usage, means the United States and Canada. The film is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and stars Tom Holland (Marvel).
Behind the record-breaking numbers are writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, credited on all four of Holland's solo Spider-Man films: Homecoming (2017), Far From Home (2019), No Way Home (2021), and now Brand New Day (THR). In an interview with the Motion Picture Association published on August 12, Sommers said he and McKenna envisioned a more mature Peter Parker — one who is more alone, no longer leaning on a mentor figure (MPA). ComicBookMovie.com reported on August 11 that the writers explained why Peter Parker no longer needs a mentor in the MCU and how Jean Grey was the missing piece of the story (CBM).
That missing piece is played by Sadie Sink, who makes her MCU debut as Jean Grey — the first castmember of the franchise's new X-Men team (THR). Variety spoke with Sink about the role on August 7, covering her debut and the mutant's future with the new X-Men (Variety).
In the film, Jean Grey is not a straightforward antagonist. She is a sympathetic character searching for her sister, Sara Grey, played by Olivia Booth-Ford. Sara has been captured by Damage Control — a government organization in the Marvel universe — which seeks to exploit her psychic powers (THR).
Jean Grey still poses a real threat. She inhabits the bodies of Peter and bystanders, forcing them to do her bidding. McKenna and Sommers told THR it was important for Jean Grey to feel formidable. "Even for a villain who is redeemed at the end or goes through a transformation, you have to start them in a place where they feel formidable," Sommers said. The writers said they do not believe Jean Grey went as far as causing any deaths (THR).
McKenna said a key to the film was holding back the Jean Grey reveal so the audience was not put ahead of Peter (THR). Another character came into play early: the Punisher. McKenna said the vigilante was part of the writing process from the start. The writers told THR that nobody knows exactly what happened on Staten Island between Spider-Man and the Punisher, who was saved by Spider-Man at some point in their shared past (THR).
Marvel published its own companion articles on the film's comic-book references and villains on July 31 (Marvel), and the studio's site also features content on the history of team-ups between Spider-Man and Jean Grey in the comics (Marvel).
For the writers, the task was balancing a beloved mutant's first MCU appearance against the needs of a Spider-Man story — and doing it without letting one overshadow the other.
