The Marvel Movies and Shows You Need to Rewatch Before ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ is the fourth solo MCU film starring Tom Holland, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, and it picks up four years after the events of No Way Home. Tom Holland was seen arriving at the film’s premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on July 27, 2026, alongside Zendaya, signaling the culmination of a story that has been building across several other Marvel projects.

For anyone who has not kept up with every twist in Peter Parker’s journey, catching up does not require watching the entire Marvel catalog. A handful of films and one Disney Plus series carry the emotional and narrative weight that ‘Brand New Day’ builds on, and each one below explains why it matters.

‘Captain America: Civil War’

This is where it all begins for Tom Holland’s version of the character. Teenage Peter Parker is recruited by Tony Stark to join Team Iron Man for the battle in Germany, marking Holland’s first appearance as Spider-Man and establishing his mentor relationship with Stark.

That bond with Stark becomes a throughline for the rest of Peter’s arc, even after Stark’s death in later films. Multiple outlets list this film among the essential viewing before ‘Brand New Day’, since it lays the emotional groundwork for everything that follows.

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’

‘Homecoming’ is the first chapter of what many outlets now call the Home Trilogy, so named because each entry shares that word in its title. Flashbacks to this film and its two sequels appear directly in ‘Brand New Day’, making all three vital to understanding the core characters and plot background.

The film introduces Peter as a high schooler still learning what it means to carry Stark’s legacy, and it sets up relationships with MJ, Ned, and Happy Hogan that later become central to the emotional stakes of ‘No Way Home’.

‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’

The middle chapter of the trilogy carries its own weight heading into ‘Brand New Day’. ‘Far From Home’ is described as an essential watch before the new film, continuing directly from where ‘Homecoming’ left off.

This is also the film where Peter’s secret identity becomes public knowledge, a twist that directly triggers the chain of events explored in ‘No Way Home’ and, by extension, everything Peter is dealing with in ‘Brand New Day’.

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’

If there is one film that outlets agree is mandatory viewing, it is this one. Peter’s identity is exposed, Doctor Strange’s spell goes wrong, and the multiverse breaks open, with returning villains and other Spider-Men bringing the spectacle while Peter’s final choice gives the story its weight.

By the end, Doctor Strange’s spell causes everyone, including MJ and Ned, to forget that Peter exists, and Peter has to start his life over from scratch after asking Strange to make the world forget he is Spider-Man. That sacrifice is the direct starting point for ‘Brand New Day’.

The Avengers safety net is gone, his friends do not remember him, and the Stark tech era is behind him, leaving Peter to stand on his own for the first time in Holland’s run. Reviewers note this loneliness gives the new film its emotional foundation, since Peter effectively wins the battle in ‘No Way Home’ while losing everything that made his life feel normal.

‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’

Bruce Banner’s presence in ‘Brand New Day’ has a less obvious lead-in, and this Disney Plus series helps bridge the gap. The series shows Banner working in a Gamma lab in Mexico and introducing his family before he later appears teaching at Empire State University, with enough Hulk-focused material to make it a useful watch.

Mark Ruffalo returns as Bruce Banner in ‘Brand New Day’, and a post-credits scene in an earlier Thor film debuted the Gamma inhibitor device that plays a role in the new movie. Neither appearance requires deep homework, but the context adds a layer of continuity for longtime viewers who want the fuller picture.

Cast returning for the new chapter also includes familiar faces, since Zendaya and Jacob Batalon come back alongside Michael Mando as Mac Gargan, better known as Scorpion. With Peter starting over in a city that no longer recognizes him, it is worth wondering which of these old connections, if any, find their way back into his life by the time ‘Brand New Day’ reaches its final act.