Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s Director Questions the Existence of Peter Parker’s Photos After Doctor Strange’s Spell

Later this month, the highly anticipated new Spider-Man movie, Brand New Day, swings into theaters. Following the events of No Way Home, Peter Parker has been wiped from the memories of nearly everyone on Earth. But does that mean all traces of him, like photos or mentions in print, have vanished too? According to the director, the answers are a bit murky.

In a recent chat, the director of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Destin Daniel Cretton, shared insights about collaborating with Tom Holland, who plays Peter Parker, and how he landed this project after his planned Avengers film was scrapped. He also tackled questions about the “rules” surrounding Doctor Strange’s memory-erasing spell and its implications for the universe.

“We had way too many discussions about how it works,” Cretton admitted. “Honestly, I don’t think it fully matters. But the movie does adhere to some strict guidelines.”

When pressed about what those guidelines entail, he opted not to elaborate. He was then asked if Peter’s photo would still be in his high school yearbook.

“We believe… gosh, we went back and forth. But we believe no,” Cretton replied. When further questioned about whether photos of Peter were completely gone or just altered, he confessed he didn’t have a definitive answer, which is why the film steers clear of old photos.

“There’s a reason you won’t see any photos in our movie. Because I don’t fully know how to answer that,” he explained.

“What we definitely want to believe is that we didn’t actually go back in time and delete someone, causing everything to change from that point on. It’s really just a memory wipe for everyone’s minds. But what happens to print or names? I can’t even start.”

Cretton mentioned he didn’t want his characters “thinking about stuff that has nothing to do with our movie.” As for his own thoughts on the matter, he said, “I pondered it for a few days. But it has nothing to do with our movie. Well, that part doesn’t.”

I appreciate that Cretton didn’t just brush off the question with a vague “You’ll have to watch to find out.” Instead, he acknowledged the inherent weirdness of comic book movies and how some of these concepts can be mind-bending if you dwell on them too long, which is a totally valid perspective. Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters on July 31.