A recent rumor claimed that Gwen Stacy will make her MCU debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and that Kiernan Shipka has been cast in the role. Apparently, the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina star was spotted on set in a laundromat in Peter Parker's (Tom Holland) building.
The source of this rumor was a little sketchy, but it sounds like there may have been some truth to it - or at least, the part where Peter meets a new blonde love interest.
Scooper Daniel Richtman has heard that Brand New Day will indeed introduce a "blonde neighbour" for Peter. "I’m not sure who the actress is," he adds. "They hint that she could be a love interest, but he’s still clearly in love with MJ."
This doesn't necessarily mean that this neighbor will turn out to be Gwen Stacy, but we'd be very surprised if they went with another character as a new love-interest for Parker. As for Shipka being cast in the role, we'll obviously just have to wait and see - though if there's any truth to the report that the actress was seen on set, we'd say it's a pretty safe bet.
Stacy has previously been played in live-action by Bryce Dallas Howard in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 and Emma Stone in The Amazing Spider-Man movies. An animated version of Spider-Gwen (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) is also a major character in Sony Pictures' Into the Spider-Verse films. A rumor did the rounds in 2024 that Sony was in the early stages of developing a live-action Spider-Gwen movie, but we haven't heard anything since, and it's probably a long shot given the current state of the studio's "SPUMC" (Sony Pictures' Universe of Marvel Characters).
Richtman also reiterates a previous rumour that may reveal how Rosario Dawson's Claire Temple fits into the story.
"At one point in the film, Peter is badly hurt and Punisher brings him to Claire Temple so she can treat his wounds."
For what it's worth, @Majestic_ucm - who shared the Shipka rumor - has posted the following (supposed|) details on Brand New Day's post-credits scene. We wouldn't put too much stock in this for the time being, but if the Stacy rumor pans out, it might be worth taking another look at.
In addition to Tom Holland as Spidey, Zendaya as MJ, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Brand New Day's cast includes Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, and Marvin Jones III as Tombstone. Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova is also expected to appear for a cameo.
“I’m spending my time exploring the next stage of this amazing character with a team of the most incredible artists in the world," said director Destin Daniel Cretton during CinemaCon. "We’re all, just daily, nerding out over the suit, how to swing, how to create an event, an emotional story, and a ride that we haven’t really seen before"
"It's day one — my fourth-ever day one on Spider-Man," Holland said in the recently-released BTS video. "You know, it's funny. Putting the suit on, it feels different this time, somehow. It's also the first time we've ever had fans on set for day one, so it's really exciting to share this with them. We've got some familiar faces on set. You know, Im just going to do my best, hopefully get it right. No pressure."
Spider-Man 4 was pushed back a week from July 24, 2026 to July 31, 2026.