'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Ending Explained: Do MJ and Ned Remember Peter Again?
The movie opens in theaters this Friday (31).
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It’s no secret that not even Peter Parker’s closest friends know who he is. To fix a mistake in a spell and send Tobey Maguire’s and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men back to their respective dimensions, Doctor Strange made the world forget Peter’s existence in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Now, years after that event, he has rebuilt his life in solitude, and the big question is: did Ned and MJ remember Tom Holland’s Peter Parker again in Brand New Day?
[THE TEXT BELOW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY]
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In the new movie, we follow the character as he focuses on his work as the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. With nothing else going on, he spends his free time following Ned and MJ’s lives, from their arrival at MIT to the duo’s move after graduation. At the end of No Way Home, we saw Peter try to reconnect and tell them who he really was, but seeing his girlfriend and best friend happy and safe, he hesitated and gave up.
However, the arrival of a new telepathic villain changes everything for our hero, and this time, staying away from the pair is no longer an option. With Peter’s life in her hands, the threat turns against Ned and MJ, who once again find their lives at risk.
Midway through the film, we see MJ supposedly “remember” Peter, but it was nothing more than a possession by the telepath. In the scene, Zendaya’s character seemed to have connected the dots and realized there was some kind of bond between her and the Web-Slinger, even leading to a kiss. When the villain revealed she was controlling MJ, the psychological cruelty of the act enraged Spider-Man.
Then, by accident, the girl finds the letter Peter wrote, revealing the whole truth about the spell and the past he shared with her and Ned. But her reaction was as painful as possible: she had no trace of any memory of her life with him and, therefore, did not return his feelings.
Ned, meanwhile, remains unaware until the end, when Peter runs into him by chance at a convenience store. He greets him, introduces himself by his real name, and then repeats the iconic handshake they used to do before No Way Home. The scene suggests that his best friend remembered him somehow, but the direction leaves the moment ambiguous, making it impossible to say with 100% certainty.
In the end, what we can say is that MJ and Ned learn the truth about their past with Peter thanks to Peter himself, but Doctor Strange’s magic still prevents them from actually remembering what happened. Either way, fans are still holding on to hope that the trio will reunite once again in the MCU.
Everything you need to know about Spider-Man: Brand New Day
In addition to Tom Holland returning as the lead, Jacob Batalon will once again play Ned, and Zendaya returns for the new Spider-Man movie as MJ. As for new additions, we have Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) confirmed in a role that has not yet been specified (though she is widely speculated to be Jean Grey).
Another confirmed name is Jon Bernthal as the Punisher, marking the hero’s debut in Marvel films. In addition, Mark Ruffalo is in the movie as Hulk and will transform, for the first time in the MCU, into Gray Hulk, a bigger and more dangerous version of the giant.
Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) is directing the project. Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna, who wrote Spider-Man: No Way Home, are also responsible for the upcoming movie.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in theaters on July 31, 2026.
