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Sadie Sink was the first new character announced for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, joining the film back in March 2025. Even though people have known about her involvement for well over a year, the identity of the character she’s playing has been kept a mystery. Brand New Day marketing materials haven’t been much help on this front, as Sink’s face hasn’t even been seen in any of the trailers or TV spots. In lieu of official information, Marvel fans have been generating a plethora of theories. Perhaps the most prominent is that Sink is portraying the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Jean Gray. A case can be made that the latest tease from Tom Holland lends credence to that speculation.
In an interview with Noovie, Holland talked about how much he was impressed by Sink’s performance in Brand New Day. “She handled the pressure of the character that she’s playing with such grace. In the third act, she steals the movie. It is so good,” he said.
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The “pressure” part of Holland’s quote is what’s most interesting. Any actor making their MCU debut is going to feel a certain amount of pressure; Marvel has been one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood for nearly two decades. Sink could have been playing a bit part and she’d still feel a responsibility to knock it out of the park (as she would with any project). However, the combination of Holland’s use of “pressure” and the persistent X-Men rumors is what makes this truly fascinating. Taking on the role of one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel universe would certainly be a pressure-packed experience — especially with Marvel doing everything it can to keep the truth from getting out ahead of time.
Not only is Jean Gray a fan-favorite Marvel character, she’s one with a rich on-screen legacy. Famke Janssen originally played the role in Fox’s first X-Men movies before Sophie Turner took over in the 2010s. The films featuring Turner’s Jean earned a mixed reception, but Janssen’s left their mark on the superhero genre (particularly the first two). 2000’s X-Men is widely credited as one of the movies that helped usher in the golden age of comic book adaptations, setting a template for many filmmakers to follow. Fox’s franchise may have had its fair share of ups and downs, but anyone stepping into any of those roles would likely feel pressure to live up to the standard they set.
Brand New Day is still a couple of weeks away, but there have already been updates about Sink’s MCU future. She reportedly is reprising her role in Avengers: Secret Wars, suggesting she is playing someone of importance. It sounds like Marvel has big plans for Sink’s mystery character, which would increase the amount of pressure. If Sink is going to be a recurring player in the MCU, it’s imperative for her to make a strong first impression in Brand New Day so that fans are excited to see her return in further installments. It’s anticipated that the MCU’s next saga will essentially be “The Mutant Saga,” placing the X-Men at the forefront of the new era. Jean would obviously be a meaningful part of any X-Men arc in the MCU.
Of course, this is all just conjecture on our part. We won’t officially know who Sink is playing until Brand New Day is out in theaters, so until then, any realistic theory about her character can be valid. Going off of what we know about Marvel’s future plans, Jean Gray still seems like the most plausible option. Marvel is keeping this under wraps for a reason, hoping to make a major splash on opening weekend. The studio doesn’t have to overtly spoil X-Men connections to sell Brand New Day since Spider-Man is its most popular character, so they’ll spend the next couple of weeks being coy.
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