Spider-Man: Brand New Day Sets Up Marvel Undoing the Ending of No Way Home (but It Shouldn’t)

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This comes after No Way Home’s conclusion, which saw the memories of Ned, MJ, and everyone else wiped so that they didn’t remember anything about Peter Parker. At the very end of that movie, Peter visited MJ and Ned at work, but he ultimately decided not to say anything substantial to them, instead allowing them to live their lives free of the secrets and dangers that come with knowing Spider-Man. As bittersweet as that ending was, Brand New Day’s trailer hints that Peter may have changed his mind after all.

MJ And Ned Are All Over The Brand New Day Trailer

Ned and MJ have multiple appearances in the Brand New Day trailer. In fact, the trailer begins with Peter watching a video of MJ and Ned, suggesting that even with the time that has passed, Peter is understandably still lamenting all that transpired in No Way Home and struggling with the loss of his friends. Yet, the trailer also reveals that, unlike in the No Way Home ending, Peter is getting more involved in MJ and Ned’s lives.

Specifically, the trailer shows Peter attending a party with both MJ and Ned in attendance and watching MJ get cozy with another man (played by Ahsoka’s Ezra Bridger actor, Eman Esfandi). It also ends with Peter talking to Ned and MJ, explaining that he is their neighbor, hilariously leading MJ to call him their “friendly neighbor.” The feeling is apparently mutual, as well, given that MJ and Ned are shown watching Spider-Man on the news and seem to have various photos of and news clippings about Spider-Man on their wall.

The latter is particularly interesting because it suggests that, despite having no memory of Peter, Ned and MJ are drawn to Spider-Man and are trying to solve some mystery about him—presumably, who the masked hero really is. And of course, we get to see the letter Peter has written for MJ revealing what happened, which he says within it may not ever be sent. But it’s there, like a loaded gun. These various moments in the trailer all seem to point to one outcome: Peter Parker, MJ, and Ned seem well on their way to being unified once again, thereby doing away with the No Way Home ending and Peter’s decision to let his friends live their lives without him.

No Way Home’s Ending Was Painful But Meaningful

There’s no question that the ending of No Way Home was absolutely brutal. Zendaya and Tom Holland even said as much in a 2021 interview, with Zendaya in particular seeming pained over how the movie came to a close. Yet, two things can be true at once, and they arguably are in this case. No Way Home gave fans a painful ending, but it was also a conclusion that carried a meaningful message.

Peter, having witnessed all that he had not only throughout the Spider-Man movies but also in the Avengers movies, realized that because Ned and MJ knew who he was and had to keep his secret, they were always going to be in danger. Realistically, even if they were in Peter’s life and had no idea that he was Spider-Man, they were at risk, as many Spider-Man movies have made abundantly clear.

Yes, he had some multiverse-level threats also weighing on his mind when he decided that everyone’s memories needed to be wiped, but his decision to walk away from Ned and MJ in the end reflected an understanding that it wasn’t fair to ask them to live that way for him, especially when they were both on their way to college and ready to start a completely new chapter. It may not have been a popular conclusion/message, but it was a powerful one.

Audiences (And Peter Parker) Deserve Better Than This Being Undone

Even with the devastating ending of No Way Home, it felt safe to assume that the collective memory loss wasn’t going to be truly permanent. It was difficult to imagine a reality in which Peter Parker’s role in the Avengers movies, especially regarding the fight against Thanos, would simply be wiped away forever and never revisited again. However, having the conclusion of No Way Home undone so quickly—literally in the very next Spider-Man movie—would be a major disappointment.

Peter’s decision at the end of No Way Home deserves more respect than that, and audiences deserve a better story than that. If Peter were to jump right back into his friendship with Ned and his relationship with MJ, that massive, painful decision would feel like it was thrown away. The MCU doesn’t have to keep Peter Parker alone and forgotten forever, but it also shouldn’t reverse the ending of No Way Home in Brand New Day.

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