Spider-Man may be a title used by many in comic book pages, but there's no denying that the two most popular interpretations of the character are Peter Parker and Miles Morales. The former is currently making waves in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to his upcoming live-action movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, while the latter is just a few years away from the release of his animated adventure, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. But as fantastic as the two heroes are on their own, watching them work together is double the fun.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2's incredible success was, in great part, because it featured Peter and Miles as playable characters. Furthermore, the dynamic duo has its own comic book, The Spectacular Spider-Men (2024) — a series that has made it clear that it's easy for them to bounce off each other's jokes. But even if we have yet to see their spectacular dynamic translate onto a live-action project, fans are more hopeful than ever. With Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon, many see it as the perfect opportunity for Miles to make his MCU debut. Fortunately, it seems we may not have to wait that long, as hinted by a new Spider-Man: Brand New Day update.
Fans are convinced Rio Morales' role was cast in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Deadline recently reported that The Bear star Liza Colón-Zayas has been cast in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. While details about her role remain under wraps, fans couldn't help but try to solve this mystery on their own. The front-runner theory is that Rio Morales will finally join the MCU, and that opens up the possibility for her son, Miles, to follow in her footsteps as well. So, where does the speculation come from? Well, Liza Colón-Zayas is of Puerto Rican descent, which also happens to be Rio Morales' birthplace. That has to be too much of a coincidence, right?
Timing couldn't be any better for the Morales family to join the MCU. After all, the whole world forgot Peter Parker ever existed during the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Add to that the fact that Aunt May was killed, and it's easy to see that the wall-crawler has no one to rely on. Rumor has it that Zendaya's Michelle Jones will indeed appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but her role will be greatly reduced to be more in line with her part in Homecoming. If none of Peter's old friends are going to have much screen time, then it would make sense for a new cast of supporting characters to be introduced, and there are no better candidates than Rio and Miles Morales.
It's been heavily theorized (and reported) that Mr. Negative will be the main antagonist of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This would all but confirm that audiences will see more of F.E.A.S.T. on the big screen — the same non-profit organization in which May used to volunteer. With that in mind, it can be theorized that Peter will follow her aunt's example moving forward as a means to keep her legacy alive. That could lead him to cross paths with Rio, who happens to be a nurse in comic book pages and could very well be another F.E.A.S.T. volunteer. From there, it's just a matter of introducing another radioactive spider and, before we know it, Miles' Spider-Man could be swinging from building to building in the streets of New York.
We know Miles already exists in the MCU courtesy of Spider-Man: Homecoming. In the movie, Donald Glover portrayed the role of Aaron Davis, and he mentions that his "nephew" lives in the neighborhood. This is a direct reference to Miles, who has a complicated relationship with his supervillain uncle in comic book pages. We all assumed this easter egg would be the foundation for another wall-crawler to eventually appear on-screen, but that has yet to be the case to this date. Fortunately, the future looks more promising than ever, and it won't be long before we see just who will be next to Tom Holland's Peter Parker in his next stand-alone adventure.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released on July 31, 2026.