Before unraveling the web of extended Marvel Cinematic Universe links, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is primarily a direct sequel to the preceding Spider-Man “Homecoming trilogy”, so there are obviously going to be callbacks to those movies, such as Peter and Ned’s shared fondness for Star Wars Legos. Another detail is Peter’s continued mourning over Aunt May, who was killed by Green Goblin in the previous narrative.
Spidey even mentions Peter 2’s abilities to form organic web-shooters; he met that alternate version of the wall-crawler in Spider-Man: No Way Home, with Tobey Maguire reprising his original live-action role. Now Peter 1’s (Tom Holland’s Spider-Man) powers are mutating and he can also create webs from his wrists.
There is a Staten Island in-joke between Spider-Man and Punisher in Brand New Day that can be perceived as a clever nod to the Staten Island Ferry sequence in Spider-Man: Homecoming. That is where Iron Man saves Spidey’s butt back when he was still figuring out this hero business. And now Staten Island is a reference to the latter saving Punisher’s life, illustrating how Spider-Man has grown into a capable superhero.
Most of Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s MCU connections can be charted by drawing a line between the various characters that show up in the plot who have ties to previous MCU media. Punisher follows his street level partner, Daredevil, into the Spider-Man franchise. While Matt Murdock had a cameo in No Way Home, Frank Castle has a much bigger part to play in these proceedings. Jon Bernthal first portrayed the rogue hero in the Netflix Daredevil series, before broadening out into his own solo show for the streaming service.
Now that Marvel Studios regained full creative control over the “Defender” roster, they produced their own successful Disney Plus seasons of Daredevil, with the subtitle Born Again. Punisher helped out his lawyer buddy in the first run of the series. Although he was absent for the sophomore year, Frank starred in his one-off special, called The Punisher: One Last Kill, which saw his brutal take down of the Gnucci crime family in Little Sicily.
Since Spidey mostly operates in Queens, Peter apparently was not around when Frank was “cleaning up” lower Manhattan. But they evidently crossed paths a few times, such as in the previously noted Staten Island incident. And Now Frank and Pete are working together to protect MJ and stop a powerful telepath.
Zabryna Guevara also pops up for a second as her Daredevil: Born Again persona Sheila Rivera. She worked for Mayor Fisk in the series, but often disagreed with his tactics, so now that Daredevil has dethroned the Kingpin, Rivera has risen enough in the political ranks to reward Spider-Man with the key to the city. Perhaps Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 will confirm if she is the ensuing mayor of New York.
The “biggest” MCU addition to the Spidey sub-franchise is Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. After getting beat up by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, Bruce experienced performance issues and couldn’t change back into the green guy when he needed to. Five years later, in Avengers: Endgame, Bruce scientifically fused both of his alter egos into Smart Hulk.
So it was quite startling to see him in his human state at the end of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Hulk is the only one who participates in both of Destin Daniel Cretton's MCU features (Shang-Chi and Brand New Day). Bruce's physical form was subsequently explained in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law; he applies an inhibitor to remain as the smaller of the two.
That brings him to his more regular lifestyle as a college professor, in Brand New Day. Although his students are more intrigued to learn about their teacher's Avenger exploits. One kid (Cindy Moon a.k.a. Silk in Marvel comics) asks Banner how come Thanos didn’t double resources instead of eliminating half the population. The professor allows his extreme fanboy pupil to answer the question with a “Hulk Smash”. Aside from avoiding off-topic inquiries, this could be Banner’s way of retorting that it is not worth trying to decipher the motive of the “mad” Titan.
Tramell Tillman makes his debut as the head of Damage Control in the film, but the organization itself has a long history in the MCU. Aside from a mention in the first Iron Man, their increased presence in Spider-Man: Homecoming pushed Vulture toward criminal activities. They also investigated Peter in Spider-Man: No Way Home, after Mysterio outed the young hero as Spider-Man. The Department of Damage Control similarly watches over Ms. Marvel in New Jersey.
The DODC runs a prison for enhanced individuals. This is where Abomination is being held in the She-Hulk limited series and well as Trevor Slattery in Wonder Man. In Brand New Day, Spider-Man liaises with the department in a joint effort to keep New York safe.
Someone who actually started off as an MCU Spidey cast member is Michael Mando; his single credit was nine years ago, in Spider-Man: Homecoming. He played Mac Gargan before graduating to his full Scorpion persona. Gargan was an arms dealer in the subplot that had Spidey spoil his deal with Vulture, landing him in prison. So he is pretty ticked off at the web-slinger in Brand New Day.
A fresh newcomer to this universe, Stranger Things' standout Sadie Sink, plays an MCU first, but someone that almost every Marvel fan is familiar with, Jean Grey. Famke Janssen had the first crack at the X-Man, 26 years ago, and went on to portray the omega level mutant in five movies (ranging from cameos to lead roles).
Then, Sophie Turner starred in two X-Men films, as a younger version of Jean. The mantle is passed to Sadie Sink in the MCU, which has been slowly bringing mutants into the fold for several years. Jean’s contribution in Brand New Day is even more significant than Professor-X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine. However, a massive X-Men reunion is being teased for Avengers: Doomsday, later this year.
Another surprise in Brand New Day was the inclusion of Yelena. This was Florence Pugh’s fourth MCU showing after Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Thunderbolts. In the latter, Yelena inadvertently forms a team of heroes, which become unveiled to the public as “The New Avengers”. Black Widow's part in Brand New Day fits with her elevated position. Since Spider-Man was a member of the Avengers, it makes sense for him to seek assistance from the contemporary faction of the team.
And a final tie-in of MCU events to come is typically expected from the post-credits stinger. Yet in this case, Ned’s Spidey Tracker indicates the relocation of Spider-Man to somewhere outside of Earth, leaving audiences to wonder how that will play out. It unfortunately does not verify that Parker will be a part of Avengers: Doomsday. Maybe it could explain his absence in the colossal crossover event or even hint at his involvement in Avengers: Secret Wars.
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