Insomniac’s Spider-Man Games Were the Inspiration for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Director Reveals

Next week marks the premiere of Spider-Man: Brand New Day—the next chapter in Peter Parker's story set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and, by its description, it will throw the hero into his most dangerous challenges yet. Following the events of No Way Home, which left the entire world forgetting who Peter Parker is, he finds himself alone, without his friends, facing not just familiar villains but also mutations happening in his own body.

Ahead of the film's release, director Destin Daniel Cretton recently spoke with Polygon about how the film draws inspiration from Insomniac Games' Marvel's Spider-Man franchise—and the connection goes beyond just sharing the same Marvel universe. He explained that stunt performers even brought screenshots from playing the Marvel's Spider-Man games onto set, trying to bring some of the in-game stunts to life. You can check out more from Cretton's interview below:

Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton says Insomniac’s Spider-Man games were one of the biggest inspirations for the movie.

He isn’t a big gamer but played the games and studied them with his team during production.

“I’m not a huge gamer, but I have played the games. We definitely looked at them.”

Cretton said the games capture what it feels like to be Spider-Man, especially the web-swinging, action, and Peter Parker’s personality.

“There are things that those games do so well that are incredibly inspiring.”

He also explained that the movie draws inspiration from various versions of Spider-Man, including the comics, previous films, and the Insomniac games, rather than following just one.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day premieres July 31. The cast includes Tom Holland (Peter Parker), Zendaya (MJ), Jacob Batalon (Ned), Jon Bernthal (Frank Castle/Punisher), Tramell Tillman (Bill Metzger), Michael Mando (Mac Gargan/Scorpion), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk), and Sadie Sink—whose role hasn't been revealed yet, but, according to rumors, she's playing Jean Grey, the iconic X-Men character.

As for Marvel’s Spider-Man video games, Insomniac Games—the franchise's developer—is currently working on the next project, Marvel's Wolverine, set in the same universe and releasing September 15, exclusively on PlayStation 5. The studio recently shared a new trailer, titled "I Ain't No Hero."

Rumors also suggest Insomniac Games is working on Marvel's Venom, an unannounced Marvel’s Spider-Man spin-off targeting a 2027 release, as well as Marvel's Spider-Man 3—which would be the studio's next major release after Marvel's Wolverine and the conclusion of the trilogy.