Earlier this year, a rumor claimed that Gwen Stacy was set to make her MCU debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and that Kiernan Shipka had been cast in the role. Apparently, the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina star was spotted on set in a laundromat in Peter Parker's (Tom Holland) building.
The source of this rumor was a little sketchy, but it sounds like there may have been some truth to it - or at least, the part where Peter meets a new blonde "love interest."
Scooper Daniel Richtman has now shared some new details about this mysterious character.
This blonde girl is said to live in Peter's apartment and is "clearly into him," but he doesn't give her the time of day. It sounds like this character is going to be introduced as a nod to Ursula Ditkovich (Mageina Tovah) from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies, and probably won't turn out to be Gwen - though it's certainly possible.
As for the Shipka rumor, if she had been cast in the movie, we're sure we'd have heard more about it by now.
Stacy has previously been played in live-action by Bryce Dallas Howard in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 and Emma Stone in The Amazing Spider-Man movies. An animated version of Spider-Gwen (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) is also a major character in Sony Pictures' Into the Spider-Verse films.
A rumor did the rounds in 2024 that Sony was in the early stages of developing a live-action Spider-Gwen movie, but we haven't heard anything since, and it's probably a long shot given the current state of the studio's "SPUMC" (Sony Pictures' Universe of Marvel Characters).
Richtman has also revealed that Parker will utilize a "Spider-Lab" of sorts in the movie in the form of "a pretty sick lair with a cool PC/3D printer station."
In case you missed it, you can check out the new trailer below.
Following the record-breaking success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man: Brand New Day begins a brand new chapter for Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Four years have passed since the events of No Way Home, and Peter is now an adult and living alone after erasing himself and the memories of him from those he loves. In a New York that no longer knows his name, he has devoted himself wholeheartedly to protecting his city as Spider-Man full-time.
But as the demands on him grow, he is put under increasing pressure. This triggers an unexpected physical change that threatens his existence, while a strange wave of crime emerges - and gives rise to one of the most dangerous threats he has ever faced.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers. The film is produced by Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad and Rachel O'Connor. The cast includes Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando and Mark Ruffalo.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to hit theaters on July 31, 2026.