Destin Daniel Cretton’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the biggest movie of 2026, defying the concept of superhero fatigue by becoming the top domestic box-office hit in U.S. history and earning $2.5 billion globally thanks to a gripping story full of popular Marvel heroes and a tragic villain in iconic X-Men character Jean Grey (Sadie Sink). That enormous success kept Brand New Day in theaters for 70 days before it first became available to rent or buy on video-on-demand platforms on Oct. 6. The digital version includes a host of special features, which will also be part of the physical releases coming Dec. 15.
Polygon can exclusively reveal one of those extras features, "Live-Action Comics," which shows how Cretton and stunt coordinator Peng Zhang replicated iconic Marvel Comics covers in live action. Peter Parker (Tom Holland) faces several villains at the beginning of the film, and his battle with Tombstone (Marvin Jones III) is based on the cover of the 1988 Spectacular Spider-Man comic by Gerry Conway and Sal Buscema, while the fight with Scorpion (Michael Mando) is inspired by Alex Saviuk’s art in the 1995 issue of Spider-Man Adventures. Cretton had giant printouts of the images made and mounted on easels so he could brainstorm how to recreate them on camera.
Sometimes those fights turned downright silly: Spidey ends his brawl with Scorpion by smacking him with a piano pulled from a nearby moving truck. Here's a full breakdown of Spider-Man: Brand New Day's home video releases and its many bonus features: Tom Holland: Evolving Spider - Step inside the shoes of Tom Holland as he reveals his many evolving roles in front of and behind the camera while making Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Brand New Direction - Destin Daniel Cretton takes the audience inside his creative process for capturing a more mature Spider-man that focuses on more complex themes.
Secret Sources and Hidden Spider Eggs - Dive deep inside Spider-Man: Brand New Day as secret, hidden references to the Marvel universe and beyond are revealed. Possession! - Step inside the process of inventing and executing the practical, physical performances that realize our villain's powerful mental abilities on camera. Peter and The Punisher - Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal dive deep into their long-standing off-camera relationship and how it fueled the undeniable on-screen chemistry between Spider-Man and the Punisher.
Live-Action Comics - Go behind the scenes and inside Director Dustin Daniel Cretton's labor of love to painstakingly recreate some of the most iconic comic covers and Spider-Man's lore on camera in live action. Friends and Foes - Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Mark Ruffalo, Jacob Batalon and the all-star cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day take the audience inside the joyous and the fun-filled process of the ensemble of actors. Webs, Wires and Runaway Tanks - World renowned stunt coordinator and action choreographer Peng Zhang details the practical approach to the real-world spider-stunts and action.
Scorpions, Ninjas, and the Spider-Suit - The costume department of Spider-Man: Brand New Day reveals the art of designing and realizing the massive cast of costumed and reinventing the beloved Spider-Suit. Lost Memories from Set: Camera Roll - Take a look at the memories captured behind the scenes from set. Subtitles are available in English, English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard, French, and Spanish.
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