Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Re-Release Can Fix Jean Grey With Just 1 New Scene

Published Oct 2, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT

Simon Gallagher has worked in movie and TV journalism for more than 17 years. He has written more than 6000 articles and reviews, and edited thousands more. He is an expert in the entertainment industry, particularly in the golden age of screen superheroes. Simon is also a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic.
 

Given the instant success of the re-release of Avengers: Endgame Encore, it should come as no surprise that the studio has similar plans for a Spider-Man: Brand New Day re-release with new footage. The theatrical run has already pulled in almost $2.5 billion, breaking domestic box office records and defying even the most enthusiastic predictions.

Years ago, Marvel and Sony could have banked on another payday when Brand New Day hit the formerly lucrative home release market. Unfortunately, physical releases simply don’t make the impact they once did, even with Blu-ray and 4k releases still following VOD and preceding the streaming drops that hollowed out home releases. So studios pivoting to a new secondary market, and using the promise of deleted scenes that used to help sell DVDs to give fans a “new” version, is actually genius.

Provided the Spider-Man: Brand New Day re-release offers a substantial enough second cut, we can pretty much guarantee more 7-figure results, inevitably pushing the domestic haul over the $1 billion mark. We already know some of what the new Spider-Man: Brand New Day footage will include, after it was revealed that the deleted scene involving Rosario Dawson’s Claire Temple - who previously appeared in Netflix’s Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders - would be re-added.

There has to be more, though, because a single scene can’t carry a whole new release. Director Destin Daniel Cretton revealed that another scene cut from the opening montage saw Spider-Man taking on multiple classic villains. And there will be more deleted scenes that can be restored. Let’s just hope it’s not too painfully obvious why they were cut in the first place. There’s also the chance that, like Endgame Encore, entirely new scenes are filmed, and if that’s the approach, we could see a solution to the original cut’s Jean Grey problem.

A Few Seconds Could Fix Jean Grey in Brand New Day's Re-Release

You’d think Jean Grey’s introduction to the MCU would have been universally adored, given Sadie Sink was so well cast and her tragic story was deeply affecting. Not only that, she’s literally an Omega-level mutant, and her arrival heralds the true beginning of Marvel’s Mutant Saga (or at least the prelude). But no, some people had rather a lot of feelings about Grey’s arc, and particularly her willingness to ignore laws to achieve her goals.

The backlash to Jean Grey apparently killing an innocent New Yorker during the mind-hopping scene was as fierce as the criticism of the perceived redemption she’s given in Brand New Day’s ending. A lot of it was overblown, and the idea of her actually being fully redeemed is a leap that ignores the fact that she’ll be back in the MCU’s first X-Men movie soon enough, with her baggage in tow. But it’s hard not to concede that seemingly throwing an old man into traffic isn’t a good look for someone who will be a hero.

Crucially, though, the writers confirmed that Jean didn’t kill anyone: she may have quite badly injured the man hit by the car, but word of god affirms she has no permanent blood on her hands. If they wrote that into the script, there’s a chance footage exists proving the victim wasn’t killed, which would go a significant way to blunting one of the most enthusiastic strains of criticism around Jean’s story. Even adding a new stinger that confirms he’s not dead would be worth it for the payoff, because I think we’ve all had quite enough discourse as it is.

The Other Scene Brand New Day's Re-Release Can Explain

If we’re really swinging for the fences here and assuming that Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s re-release follows the same playbook as Engame Encore, there’s also an opportunity here for Marvel to add new footage that ties the movie to Avengers: Secret Wars. It’s likely too soon to get into it for Doomsday, as Endgame Encore did, but Brand New Day’s final scene appears to link to Secret Wars.

The glitching Spider-Tracker that shows another Spider-Man out in space feels like a nod to a multiversal variant who will somehow become involved with Peter in Secret Wars. Lots of fans will no doubt want that to be Miles Morales, but rumors persist that Tobey Maguire will appear in both Doomsday and Secret Wars, and a near-miss incursion, or Peter 2 “recruiting” Holland’s version as Doctor Doom did with Hulk would explain the mystery.

Assuming the re-release of Brand New Day comes between Doomsday and Secret Wars, Marvel could use it as an opportunity to further hype the sixth Avengers movie, in the full knowledge that Spider-Man means more ticket sales. And if Tom Holland sits out Doomsday as expected, a new stinger that confirms he will return in Secret Wars, and the hint of a partial No Way Home reunion would be a hugely powerful marketing move.