Peter Parker has lost everything. His aunt. His best friends. The love of his life. And somehow, impossibly, himself.
If you walked out of Spider-Man: No Way Home with red eyes and a lot of unresolved feelings, you’re not alone — we are still not over it either. The good news is that Spider-Man: Brand New Day is finally here to either heal those wounds or reopen them entirely. Europe gets the film on July 29, 2026, and the United States follows on July 31, 2026. Our tickets are secured, and our tissues are ready.
But before we walk into that theater, we have questions. What happens when nobody remembers Peter Parker? Will MJ feel something even without her memories? And what on earth is Sadie Sink’s mysterious character all about?
If you need a full refresh before the credits roll, we’ve got you covered. Here’s everything you need to remember before Brand New Day begins.
Who Is MJ? A Quick Recap
You already know all about Zendaya (girlie is everywhere in 2026!). But do you remember MJ?
Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson first appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming. She is a book-loving, delightfully pessimistic, and slightly mysterious classmate whom nobody around seems to understand. She was the girl reading a book called Killed It at the back of the class. We loved her immediately. We also have to point out that she’s incredibly observant.
We don’t get a big romantic introduction in Homecoming. Peter and MJ are simply classmates interacting during lunch, school projects, and debate team. While Peter is fighting monsters and chasing his crush, Liz, MJ sits back and takes notes.
By the second movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home, the two have grown closer during an international school trip to Europe. Peter is working up the courage to confess his feelings when everything goes sideways — as it always does when you’re dating Spider-Man. Peter saves MJ from a fall during the chaos, and in that moment, something shifts. She confesses she had already figured out his secret.
In the third movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home, the two are dating and are so cute it physically hurts. She’s fully prepared to help Peter however she can. She knows the risks of loving Spider-Man and chooses him anyway.
When Did MJ Find Out Peter Was Spider-Man?
While their high school romance was slowly blossoming, MJ was already three steps ahead of everyone else. Classic MJ.
By the time Peter worked up the courage to confess his feelings during their class trip to Europe, she already had her suspicions. She had been watching. She’s always watching.
The moment comes at the end of Far From Home. After the chaos with Mysterio, Peter saves MJ from a fall — just like in the fairy tales he would never admit to believing in. He gives her a necklace, broken during the chaos of the night, and finally says what he’s been trying to say for two movies.
And MJ, being MJ, tells him she had already figured out he was Spider-Man. She didn’t need to be told. She just needed him to be honest.
That moment changed everything. Their relationship became real — not the almost, not the “what if,” but the real thing. Two people who genuinely chose each other, knowing exactly what that choice meant. One of them just happened to wear a red-and-blue suit on weekends.
What Happened in ‘No Way Home?’
No Way Home was truly heartbreaking. Everyone’s faces were wet by the end of the movie, and we are not ashamed to admit ours were too.
It all started when Mysterio revealed Spider-Man’s identity to the world in the final moments of Far From Home. Peter’s face was suddenly on every screen in New York. Wanting to fix the situation, Peter went to Doctor Strange, and they attempted a spell to make the world forget. Well, that didn’t end well. Villains from different universes started crossing over, and chaos ensued.
The only way to close the multiverse and save the world was another spell… but this one came with a devastating choice. Cast the spell, and the entire world forgets that Peter Parker ever existed. Not just Spider-Man. Peter Parker. His friends, his family, everyone he has ever loved.
It was a no-brainer. And the most selfless thing we have ever watched.
Aunt May died in this film knowing who Peter was. Happy lost both Tony Stark and May Parker — and now has nobody to talk to about it. Peter lost everyone. He has no one left who knows the full story of his life.
The goodbye scene with Ned and MJ destroyed us completely. MJ makes Peter promise to find them again. She says she will figure it out, that she hates magic, and that they will find their way back to each other. They share their last kiss and their first — and only — “I love you.” Somebody sedate us.
At the very end, Peter walks into the donut shop where MJ works. He goes there secretly hoping she’ll look at him and remember. She has that look on her face — you look oddly familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
She asks if he wants anything else. He says no. She says, “See you around.” He just stares at his best friend and the love of his life — two people who no longer know him — and walks away.
At least Aunt May died knowing who he was. Poor Happy. Poor Peter. Poor us.
So Where Does ‘Brand New Day’ Pick Up?
We’re walking into the theater with limited knowledge and high emotions.
The result of Strange’s spell was simple and devastating — the entire world forgot Peter Parker existed. MJ included. Every memory, every moment, every feeling: gone.
Based on the trailer, we know that MJ has moved on. She and Ned got into MIT and are living their college lives. We see that she has a new boyfriend — or maybe just a fling. We’re not judging. She has no memory of Peter Parker or Spider-Man. Although she does look awfully sad while watching Spider-Man on the news. We’re hoping she’ll put that observer hat back on.
As for Peter, he essentially doesn’t exist. Nobody remembers him, and he has to rebuild his life from scratch. On top of that, he gets to watch the love of his life on social media, living her best life while forgetting entirely about his existence. Peter Parker, the boy who gave up everything for her, reduced to a stranger she scrolls past. The emotional stakes are high, so we’re bringing tissues, and you should too.
The new boyfriend situation is something we’re choosing not to think about too much. MJ deserves happiness and has clearly found it. Whether Peter agrees when he sees it in person is another matter entirely. The man has to watch the love of his life move on while also saving New York on a daily basis. The audacity of his life, right?
But that sad look MJ has while watching Spidey on the news? The observer is still in there somewhere.
What Makes This MJ Different
This is not the MJ we fell in love with.
That MJ was shaped by years of friendship with Peter, by knowing his secret, and by choosing to love someone who carries the weight of the world.
This MJ has none of that history.
She’s the same person but a different version — the same sharp wit, the same observant eyes, but none of the context that made her who she was in our hearts.
Zendaya mentioned in interviews that playing this version of MJ required her to essentially start from scratch. Same character, different life experiences. That’s actually a fascinating acting challenge, and we’re here for it.
And then there’s the trailer shot. MJ watches Spider-Man on the news with a look that isn’t quite neutral. Something flickers. Whether that means anything is what we’re walking into the theater to find out.
Tom and Zendaya also confirmed they shared a trailer on set during filming. Whatever happens between Peter and MJ on screen, the people playing them clearly still like each other very much. We’re choosing to find that comforting.
We’ve been waiting for this since the coffee shop scene broke our hearts in 2021. Peter standing there, ordering coffee from the love of his life, watching her not know him. That image has lived rent-free in our heads for five years, and Brand New Day is finally here to do something about it.
This film promises to be darker and more emotionally complex than anything the franchise has attempted before. MJ’s story is at the center of it all — a girl who doesn’t remember why she recognizes something familiar in a boy who orders coffee and leaves without saying what he really came to say.
We believe love conquers all. We believe the observer in MJ is still watching. And we believe Peter Parker didn’t give up everything just for it to stay gone forever.
See you on the other side. Tissues aren’t optional. They’re mandatory.
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