I'm Convinced Tom Holland Finally Proved He Can Keep An MCU Secret After Spider-Man: Brand New Day (& It's Going To Totally Change Doomsday)

Published Sep 28, 2026, 10:00 PM EDT

Liz Declan is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant, primarily covering movies. She is a massive fan of Star Wars, the MCU, and Supernatural. In addition to writing, Liz loves attending and covering conventions and interviewing actors. Find her on TikTok and Instagram @va.va.vera

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame Encore.Spider-Man: Brand New Day has proven to be exactly what the MCU needed, and it arguably couldn't have come at a better time. Although Marvel fans have long expressed a sense of superhero fatigue (which actually extends far beyond Marvel as a concept), Brand New Day came along and smashed box office records, so much so that it became the highest-grossing movie of all time domestically. Despite Avengers: Endgame Encore just recently hitting theaters, there's little doubt that it's Brand New Day that has really set the ideal stage for Avengers: Doomsday.

At first, though, it seemed like Brand New Day was only setting the stage in terms of audience impact. Tom Holland wasn't expected to appear in Doomsday (nor is Sadie Sink, technically, although many fans have their doubts), and Brand New Day seemed relatively self-contained as a story, other than the fact that it was essentially the start of the MCU's X-Men. The only aspect of the movie that potentially called that into question was Brand New Day's sole post-credits scene, which left audiences with many questions. Specifically, this scene showed the Spidey Tracker detecting Spider-Man in space.

What exactly that meant was anyone's guess at the time, and there were various rumors and theories stemming from it, whether that was the hope that this scene meant Battleworld was coming to the MCU or the possibility that Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man could be playing a role in Doomsday. Following one of the Endgame Encore added scenes, however, it seems like this Brand New Day post-credits scene may actually have been showing Tom Holland's Spider-Man after all—and the fact that he's in space could mean a direct connection to Doomsday in the most exciting way possible.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Post-Credits Scene Could Involve Doctor Doom

It's a long-running joke within the Marvel fanbase that Holland is notoriously bad at keeping secrets, although the extent to which that is actually true is difficult to say with any certainty. Regardless, Endgame Encore suggests that he may have actually kept one massive secret without giving away a thing. Specifically, one of the most important Endgame Encore additions was a mid-credits scene in which Doctor Doom comes to "collect" Bruce Banner, undoubtedly wanting the Hulk to fight on his side as he attempts to take down the Avengers in Doomsday.

Just before Doom arrives, the tech around Bruce begins glitching, and while that might seem like nothing at first, it actually mirrors the exact glitch that can be seen on the screen of the Spidey Tracker in Brand New Day. Based on that, it's possible that what is actually being shown at the end of Brand New Day is Peter Parker being taken by Doom, just as Bruce was. This may very well mean that Holland's Spider-Man is playing a key role in Doomsday after all (and, if so, it would be brilliant).

There's little doubt that Doom would be using magic to get Bruce, Peter, and/or anyone else to fight on his side, as they wouldn't do so of their own accord. With Peter in particular, though, this raises an interesting question. We already know that Robert Downey Jr. is playing Doctor Doom, of course, but we don't know why he was the choice. Many have suspected that this means Doom is a Tony Stark variant, but that's not confirmed. Whether he is or isn't, though, looking like Peter's late beloved mentor couldn't hurt in getting Spider-Man on his side.

There's even the possibility that Peter could be tricked into thinking this is actually Tony, although that's a stretch and entirely speculative for now. What does seem clear at this point, however, is that Doom's team is going to involve more characters than just Bruce Banner. It will be fascinating to find out who else is on that list, and based on both Spider-Man: Brand New Day's post-credits scene and the additions to Endgame Encore, that may include Holland's Peter Parker.

• 

  Spider-Man: Brand New Day

  

  7/10

  Release Date

  July 29, 2026

  Runtime

  145 minutes

  • 

    Peter Parker / Spider-Man

  • 

    Jean Grey

  Four years after No Way Home, Peter Parker lives alone, forgotten by everyone he loves, and devotes himself entirely to being Spider-Man.

• 

  Avengers: Doomsday

  Release Date

  December 18, 2026

  Runtime

  165 Minutes

  • 

    Victor von Doom

  • 

    Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic

  • 

    Thor

  • 

    Vanessa Kirby

    Sue Storm / Invisible Woman

  Avengers: Doomsday is the fifth Avengers film and kicks off Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A stacked cast of heroes both new and old to the MCU — including members of the X-Men — will face off against Victor von Doom, revealed at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024 to be played by a returning Robert Downey Jr.