Spider-Man 4: MCU Movie Is Very Wisely Changing a Major Character

Spider-Man: Brand New Day, also known as Spider-Man 4, is wisely changing a major MCU character.

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in United States theaters this summer. Directed by Wonder Man and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ Destin Daniel Cretton, the movie will once again see Tom Holland reprise his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

Which MCU character is Spider-Man 4 changing?

A new Spider-Man 4 clip was shown exclusively at CinemaCon last night. The clip has not been posted online; however, Variety has a detailed description of the footage and revealed that Jacob Batalon’s Ned character is now something of a conspiracy theorist.

Ned and Zendaya’s Michelle Jones-Watson don’t remember who Peter is following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. That doesn’t stop Peter from trying to get involved with their lives, though, as the clip sees him follow Ned to a college party after watching his former best friend buy some beer at a bodega.

“At the rager, Peter notices that Ned has a conspiracy-esque corkboard with headlines about the one and only Spider-Man,” the article reads. “‘He actually saved me and my friend’s lives in high school,’ Ned tells the stranger (Peter) in his midst. ‘Ever since, I’ve been trying to figure out who he is. Not to unmask him to the world, just to thank him.’ Ned rattles off the one thing he’s certain about the masked hero: ‘We know he’s definitely from Queens…’ he says. ‘I’ve been able to narrow it down to two prime suspects’ before revealing photos of Flash Thompson and Professor Harrington.”

Ned has always been a fun character in the MCU Spider-Man movies, though it may also be fair to say that he’s never really had a lot of depth to him, as he’s largely been used either as a sidekick or comedic relief. Brand New Day appears to be giving him an opportunity to really play a really big role in the story — and still in a humorous way — as his attempts to track down Spider-Man, though not entirely successful in the CinemaCon clip, will likely have a great impact as the movie plays out. It’ll be interesting to see if the movie uses this plot line as a way for Peter and Ned to rekindle their friendship under a fresh start.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 4 arrives on July 31, 2026.

Originally reported by Brandon Schreur at SuperHeroHype.