Add Us On Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
Sadie Sink is set to make her MCU debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and if rumors are to be believed, her character could be a game-changer for the entire franchise. Marvel Studios has yet to reveal who Sink is playing, as is its wont. It drives up hype for the movie if Marvel allows speculation to run rampant.
It’s possible that Sink is playing a one-off supporting role (Peter’s college classmate, for example), but, coming off the final season of Stranger Things, she’s a big enough star to secure a major role in the Marvel universe. Kevin Feige has an eye for up-and-coming talent — Florence Pugh, Joseph Quinn, Simu Liu — and doesn’t waste any time snatching them up to play an Avenger.
All Signs Point To Sadie Sink Playing Jean Grey In Spider-Man: Brand New Day
There have been a few theories about who Sink might be playing in the new Spider-Man movie. Some of these theories are obvious (a comic-accurate Mary Jane Watson), while others are more outlandish (Mayday Parker from the Tobey Maguire universe). She could be playing either of those roles — or possibly Black Cat, or even Scream — but the evidence is leaning toward a much more significant Marvel character: Jean Grey.
Marvel is pretty good at keeping secrets (at least until Tom Holland embarks on the press tour), but we know very little about Sink’s role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But we do know that she’ll reprise her role in Avengers: Secret Wars — the Endgame of the Multiverse Saga — so she seems to be pretty important. I don’t think Black Cat would end up on Battleworld, but Jean sure would.
Secret Wars is expected to be a soft reset for the MCU, allowing Feige to tear down his messy, overstuffed multiverse, pare it back to the small handful of characters and properties that are actually working, and rebuild from there. So, in addition to finally putting this current phase of the MCU out of its misery, Secret Wars will have to set up the semi-rebooted MCU for the next phase.
After Secret Wars, the MCU is planning an X-Men movie that will recast all those familiar heroes and retell their stories from the beginning, much like Marvel did recently with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The X-Men are a treasure trove of familiar faces, so this is the most logical way to move forward, and Jean would be a key part of that.
The MCU's Jean Grey Debuting In A Spider-Man Movie Would Be Massive
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is already set to be one of the MCU’s most ambitious crossovers. Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk and Jon Bernthal’s Punisher are both set to appear, and it’ll be a joy to see how those characters interact, and how Bernthal’s Punisher will fit into the larger scale of a PG-13 blockbuster movie.
Just the promise of a Spidey/Hulk/Punisher team-up is enough to make Brand New Day the MCU’s most exciting new movie in years. But if you added Jean Grey into the mix, it would be one for the history books. It might make the movie a little overstuffed or unfocused, but introducing the MCU’s first homegrown X-Man in a Spidey movie would be huge.
Sadie Sink's Avengers: Secret Wars Role Makes The Jean Grey Rumors Even More Likely
The biggest telltale sign that Sink is playing Jean Grey is that she’s confirmed to return in Avengers: Secret Wars. Who else could be introduced in a Spider-Man movie, but also have a part to play in the big finale of the Multiverse Saga?
It seems unlikely that a throwaway stock character like Peter’s classmate or Peter’s neighbor or Peter’s new love interest would make the cut in Secret Wars. Out of all the roles Sink has been rumored for, from obscure villains to multiversal variants, Jean is the only one who could feasibly also have a role in Secret Wars.
Secret Wars is basically a battle royale in an interstellar gladiator arena, so there isn’t really room for anyone who isn’t a superhuman. If Sink is coming back for the final showdown on Battleworld, she must be playing someone pretty important.
The MCU Will Never Be The Same Again After The New X-Men Arrive
It’s been over half a decade since Marvel Studios regained the rights to the X-Men characters in Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, and all they’ve done so far is dredge up the actors from the Fox movies to play the hits. We’ve gotten Hugh Jackman in the classic yellow-and-blue suit, but we still haven’t been introduced to the MCU’s own Wolverine (unless you count Henry Cavill).
Subscribe to our newsletter for MCU casting & X-Men analysis
Want smarter context on casting rumors and what Jean Grey’s arrival could mean? Subscribe to our newsletter for original MCU analysis, thoughtful rumor evaluation, and expert context to help you parse big franchise shifts. By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Between Patrick Stewart’s cameo in Multiverse of Madness, Kelsey Grammer’s cameo in The Marvels, and Jackman’s full-blown resurrection in Deadpool & Wolverine, the MCU has been relying on the audience’s nostalgia for the Fox versions of the characters for a few years now. Marvel is doubling down on this gimmick in Avengers: Doomsday, which is bringing in as many X-Men as Avengers.
When the Multiverse Saga is finally over and the MCU can open a new chapter focused on the mutants, the franchise can finally move past its post-Endgame slump, leave Fox’s X-Men in the 2000s where they belong, and introduce the MCU’s very own X-Men team. It’s riskier than relying on nostalgia, and Sadie Sink’s supposed role as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be the first test.
