‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Is One of the Longest MCU Movies Ever Made, and Only Three Films Beat It
The Marvel Cinematic Universe spent a significant portion of its Multiverse Saga fighting off criticism that went well beyond storytelling concerns. Fans repeatedly pointed to underwhelming runtimes as a core problem, with multiple Phase 5 films drawing complaints for pacing issues that many attributed to shorter run times, with several entries even straying under the two-hour mark. For audiences who felt the MCU was shortchanging its stories, the trend became a recurring talking point.
That frustration has only intensified the spotlight on ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘, the fourth MCU chapter for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker and arguably the most anticipated superhero release in years. The first trailer for the film became the biggest trailer of all time, amassing 718.6 million views in just 24 hours, making it the largest trailer launch ever for any movie or video game. According to Variety, the teaser then crossed one billion views in just four days, becoming the first movie trailer in history to reach that milestone.
With hype already at a fever pitch, a newly surfaced runtime listing has added even more fuel to the conversation. Per AMC Theatres, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ clocks in at 150 minutes, or two hours and 30 minutes, which beats out ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ and makes it the longest ‘Spider-Man’ movie ever released.
Measuring that figure against the MCU’s full history reveals just how significant the runtime truly is. Only three Marvel films have ever run longer, specifically ‘Eternals‘ at 156 minutes, ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘ at 161 minutes, and ‘Avengers: Endgame‘ at 181 minutes. Every other entry in the franchise falls below where ‘Brand New Day’ now reportedly lands, placing it firmly among the studio’s most ambitious theatrical efforts.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and set after the events of ‘No Way Home’, the film follows Peter Parker navigating a world that has completely forgotten he exists, including the people closest to him. Michael Mando’s Scorpion, a villain first teased in 2017’s ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’, is set to emerge as one of Peter’s new antagonists. Additional MCU figures including Hulk and the Punisher are also expected to appear, giving the film a scope that seems to justify every minute of its runtime.
For fans who had been concerned about how many characters and plot threads could realistically fit into a single movie, the extended length should offer some reassurance. A 150-minute runtime provides meaningful breathing room for a story that has been described as one of the most personal and street-level Spider-Man adventures the MCU has attempted.
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is expected to join the list of the MCU’s longest films when it arrives later this year, but for now ‘Brand New Day’ stands as the opening statement of what Phase 6 intends to deliver on the big screen. Whether all of those minutes translate into a tightly woven story or an overstuffed spectacle is the real question, so where do you land on this: does a two-and-a-half-hour ‘Spider-Man’ film sound like a dream or a risk to you?
