Two days before Spider Man Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31, 2026, fans are more curious, does MJ and Ned come back? After No Way Home ended with Peter Parker erasing himself from the memory of everyone he loves — MJ and Ned included. That question has hung over the sequel since its first teaser dropped. The short answer is yes.
Zendaya and Jacob Batalon are both back for Spider Man Brand New Day — but the MJ and Ned reunion isn’t what you’d expect.
Zendaya and Jacob Batalon Are Both Back in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Deadline reported Zendaya would return as Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson, and THR also confirmed later that Jacob Batalon’s return as Ned Leeds. So the MJ and Ned reunion is officially announced that sparks the excitement and builds suspense around a whole year. That increased the fans’ curiosity and spread the theories on social media about the relationship in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Later in September 2025, set photos revealed the trio — Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Batalon together on a scene where streets dressed like New York for shoot. They are standing in costumes for the first time since No Way Home. However, one tiny detail captured Batalon wearing an MIT shirt in that photo. That means he ends up in there with MJ.
MJ and Ned Are Back On Screen, But They Don’t Remember Peter Parker
The final scene of No Way Home where Doctor Strange cast a spell that erased Peter Parker from everyone’s memory including MJ and Ned. Spider Man Brand New Day picks up four years later and no one remembers Spider-Man’s identity.
MJ and Ned are back and on her way to MIT. Since No Way Home he’s reportedly built something called the “Spidey Tracker” app — he remembers being saved by Spider-Man once, he just doesn’t know the guy behind the mask used to be his best friend.
So when the trailer cuts to Ned and MJ, they’re not walking back into Peter’s life as “MJ and Ned.” As far as the story’s concerned, they’re strangers to him, standing in the same city he’s still protecting.
That’s a harder note than most Spider-Man sequels play, and it’s the right one. A clean “the gang’s back together” reunion would’ve undercut the entire point of what Peter chose to do at the end of No Way Home. Making MJ and Ned present but unreachable is what keeps that sacrifice from feeling weightless three movies later.
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Why MJ and Ned’s Return Matters for Spider Man Brand New Day
Peter Parker spends this movie alone by choice. The official synopsis describes him as an adult “living entirely alone, having voluntarily erased himself from the lives and memories of those he loves,” fighting crime in a New York that no longer knows his name. That’s the real engine of Brand New Day — more than any single villain.
Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Michael Mando’s Scorpion give Peter something to physically fight; Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk gives him someone to talk to about the “physical evolution” his spider-DNA is apparently going through, which the trailer frames as an actual threat to his life, not just a power-up. Marvin Jones III’s Tombstone rounds out a genuinely stacked rogues’ gallery for a movie that’s ultimately about isolation, not team-ups.
MJ and Ned are the emotional stakes in that structure, not the action ones. The real tension isn’t whether Peter survives Scorpion or the Punisher — it’s whether cutting himself out of their lives actually protected them, or just cost him something for nothing.
Whether the film lets that reunion happen in any real way, and how far it goes, hasn’t been spelled out in any official synopsis or trailer. Anyone giving you specifics on an actual Peter-MJ-Ned reunion scene right now is guessing — same as the rest of us two days out.
Where Brand New Day Fits Before Avengers: Doomsday
There’s a second reason MJ and Ned’s memory loss matters, and it has nothing to do with Peter’s love life. Brand New Day is the last Phase Six movie before Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026 — a five-month gap, not the usual year-plus wait between MCU event films.
Kevin Feige, alongside producer Amy Pascal, confirmed in a Collider interview that Spider Man Brand New Day takes place chronologically before Doomsday, though Feige stopped short of confirming any direct story link between the two. That silence has only fueled more speculation. Spider-Man is notably absent from Doomsday’s officially announced cast, despite Holland appearing in both Infinity War and Endgame, and that gap is exactly why fans keep floating theories about a secret Peter Parker role in December’s ensemble film.
None of that is confirmed by Marvel so treat any specific claims about a Doomsday tie-in or post-credits reveal as fan speculation until Sony or Marvel says otherwise.
Why This Choice Works for the Story
If you wanted MJ and Ned to sprint back into Peter’s arms in act one, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is built to disappoint you on purpose and that’s the correct choice.
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy was only focused on the relationship of Peter and his suit while growing up learning the cost of being a hero. Facing the consequences of his choices — memory-wipe sacrifice and a straightforward reunion that defines mistakes don’t hold in the MCU.
The relationship of MJ and Ned is somehow the source for Peter’s change. That’s why if MJ and Ned are back, it really means that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be expanding its story for the bigger MCU rather than just quietly retracting it.
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Conclusion
If you’re deciding whether to see Spider Man Brand New Day specifically for the MJ-and-Ned angle: both actors are in it, confirmed, no asterisk. What you shouldn’t walk in expecting is a tidy “gang’s back together” moment in the first twenty minutes.
This is a movie about the cost of Peter’s choice at the end of No Way Home, and MJ and Ned are proof of exactly what that cost looks like — two people living full, separate lives a few subway stops away from him, with no idea he exists.
Whether Brand New Day gives them their memories back, or leaves that door open for whatever comes next, is the one thing genuinely worth watching for once you’re in the seat on July 31.
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