When Does Spider-Man: Brand New Day Take Place In The Marvel Timeline?
Contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day"
"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" covers a lot of ground in the life of Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) across the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We're talking several years — but in what year, exactly, does the movie take place? Going by the time jump mentioned in the "Brand New Day" synopsis – as well as Looper's Spider-Man recap ahead of "Brand New Day" — the answer is 2028.
No Way Home dropped in 2021 and takes place in the latter half of 2024 (or roughly nine months after the events of "Avengers: Endgame" going by the MCU Timeline). By the end, we know that Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) and Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson (Zendaya) are heading to The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Meanwhile, the voluntarily forgotten Peter will focus on his Spider-Manning. The beginning of "Brand New Day" covers the entirety of the pair's studies, while showing Peter's growth as a popular New York City superhero.
While the movie avoids mentioning any distinct years, it offers enough context to back up the four-year time skip mentioned in the synopsis. Let's take a closer look at the evidence.
MJ and Ned's MIT studies are the key to figuring out the movie's timeline
MIT estimates that your average student will take four years to attain their Bachelor of Science degree. Since the synopsis reveals that it's been four years since "No Way Home," it's possible that Ned and MJ, who are both incredibly smart to begin with, graduate a little early so they can settle back in New York City in peace. The four-year gap means that slightly less time has passed in the MCU than the real world nearly five-year gap between "No Way Home" and "Brand New Day" being released, but the MCU still remains ahead of the curve.
As for Peter's own timeline during the years leading up to the best live-action Spidey story in decades, it's considerably more chaotic. After he cleans the city of its key crime families within mere months, he becomes the city's semi-official superhero mascot, growing so well-acquainted with the NYPD that he has his own "Commissioner Gordon" figure in Detective DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas). However, it's clear that the years haven't been kind to Peter, who's increasingly lonely and stressed out, with his strange metamorphosis linked to years of isolation and trauma.
"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is now in theaters.