Report: Marvel’s About to Get Darker Than Ever Before

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Deana Carpenter is a Movies & TV News Reporter at CBR. Before joining the team, she worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Almanac and spent more than 15 years as a freelance newspaper reporter. With a background in journalism and media, she brings strong reporting experience and a passion for storytelling to her coverage of film and television.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, in recent years, hasn’t shied away from comedy with 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder, bordering on silly. A new report, however, suggests that the next film installment in the MCU might finally venture away from the lighthearted nature that fans have come to expect from some of the universe’s latest movies.

While the MCU has always scattered at least a few jokes in its movies, The Direct reports, via scooper Daniel Richtman (DanielRPK on social media), that the next sequel film, which is the upcoming Tom Holland-led Spider-Man: Brand New Day, will likely have a darker tone to it.

In his report, Richtman stated that Brand New Day, which comes from director Destin Daniel Cretton, will include several Marvel characters who are well-known for their darker sides, notably Hulk, Punisher, Scorpion, and Tombstone. Richtman said he heard that Brand New Day is a “much darker movie” than the previous Home trilogy from the MCU. This could be welcome news for Marvel fans who have been notably voicing their concerns over what has been referred to as the MCU’s “comedic slop” over the past several years.

Richtman also alluded to the fact that Brand New Day could even go as far as telling some of the titular Spider-Man’s deeper, darker tales like Kraven’s Last Hunter and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The addition of Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle/Punisher character to the latest Spider-Man movie will likely contribute to a darker tone. According to Richtman, the Punisher is still a “murderous psycho,” but he will be equipped with “tools to handle bigger threats,” such as a tank and more advanced technology. Brand New Day will, however, still feature Jacob Batalon as Spider-Man/Peter Parker’s loyal best friend, which could still provide some comedic relief in a film that may likely have a darker tone.

Tom Holland Suffered a ‘Mild Concussion’ while Filming the Newest Spider-Man Movie

Close up of Peter Parker's face as he looks at Tony Stark before dying in Avengers Infinity War

Fans may also recall that No Way Home did tease a grittier Spider-Man, especially with the death of Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), the chaos in the Multiverse, and having the memory of the web crawler’s entire existence completely erased. The MCU also had Peter Parker in some dark situations even before Holland’s standalone Spider-Man movies, like when he was “dusted” by Thanos and was there when Tony Stark died.

Filming on the upcoming Phase 6 Brand New Day is currently underway. Shortly after filming began, it was reported that Tom Holland had sustained a “horrendous injury” on the set of the movie. However, the actor’s father, Dominic Holland, quickly said that his son just bumped his head. The elder Holland did confirm that the actor did suffer a “mild concussion” and is fine. “He didn’t feel great, but he assured us that he was fine,” he said, and has since returned to filming.

In addition to Holland as Spider-Man, Batalon as Ned, and Bernthal as Punisher, Brand New Day will also star Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk, Marvin Jones III as Tombstone, Zendaya as M.J., as well as Tramell Tillman, Melanie Scrofano, and Saide Sink.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day will hit theaters on July 31, 2026.