At the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker stripped away the high-tech gadgets and returned to basics. His Iron Spider costume, Tony Stark’s suit-fabricating machine, and the EDITH AI glasses were all gone. What remained was a sewing machine in a modest apartment, where he meticulously stitched together a homemade Spider-Man outfit.
Now, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will explore Peter’s new status quo in greater detail. A newly released behind-the-scenes vignette features star Tom Holland and director Destin Daniel Cretton discussing the film’s commitment to practical effects. Over footage of Spidey being propelled by wires or riding a car while trailing a truck rigged with a shooting mechanism, Holland enthuses,
“This is some of the best action that we’ve had in any of these movies. And we shot the most stunts on the day in camera.”
The vignette arrives as a promising sign for Marvel fans frustrated with the studio’s recent output. While the MCU has delivered memorable sequences—such as the freeway chase in Captain America: The Winter Soldier—coherent action has never been its defining strength. Even the spectacle-driven sequences in Joss Whedon’s Avengers films, though visually dynamic, often felt exaggerated and artificial, lacking the visceral impact of real stunts.
As the quality of MCU releases has declined, criticism of their special effects has grown louder. Online communities, including Reddit, frequently share glaring examples of poor CGI from films like Black Widow, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: Love and Thunder, highlighting Marvel’s apparent disregard for adapting visual storytelling across different mediums. Reports of Marvel’s mistreatment of VFX artists—culminating in recent mass layoffs—have further fueled fan dissatisfaction.
Frustration over subpar effects has reached a tipping point, with viewers quick to spot flaws even in unexpected places. For instance, The Punisher: One Last Kill—a special that otherwise relies heavily on practical stunts—features a glaringly bad CG effect in its latest episode.
One notable exception to this trend is Cretton’s previous film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. While the movie did include some murky CGI, particularly in the climactic battle between Shang-Chi and Wenwu, its fight scenes stood out for their clarity and raw energy, a direct result of filming real stunt performers in action.
Cretton underscores the importance of practical effects in Brand New Day, remarking,
“Shooting that opening action sequence was really exhilarating… Putting Spider-Man on the street with cars exploding, it’s just so awesome.”His comments are paired with footage of a Spidey stuntman suspended above a fiery explosion, underscoring the film’s dedication to authenticity.
While Sony has carefully selected the most impressive moments for this promotional clip, the mere fact that they’ve dedicated an entire feature to practical effects signals a clear shift in their visual priorities. It’s worth noting, however, that exceptional effects are just one component of a great superhero movie. The first two Sam Raimi Spider-Man films remain the benchmark for live-action superhero cinema, and they relied heavily on practical techniques as well.
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