Amy Pascal Reveals Why SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY Succeeded and How Destin Daniel Cretton Changed Everything

Nobody has been part of the modern Spider-Man journey quite like Amy Pascal. She helped launch the original Sam Raimi trilogy at Columbia Pictures, produced the MCU Spider-Man films alongside Kevin Feige, and has also guided the hugely successful Spider-Verse franchise.

So after Spider-Man: Brand New Day shattered box office records with a massive $360 million opening weekend, Pascal has plenty to celebrate.

The film didn't just top Spider-Man: No Way Home. It also surpassed Avengers: Endgame to claim the biggest opening weekend in box office history.

While speaking with Deadline, Pascal opened up about why Brand New Day connected so strongly with audiences, why director Destin Daniel Cretton was exactly what the franchise needed, how they approached Peter Parker's next chapter after No Way Home, and even offered a small but exciting update on the future of James Bond.

One of the biggest creative decisions was realizing they couldn't simply try to top No Way Home by making the spectacle even bigger. Instead, they looked inward.

Pascal explained: "We knew we couldn’t go bigger than three Spider-Mans, so we had to go deeper with Peter Parker. And the truth is that every time with my partner, Marvel’s Kevin Feige, my producing partner Rachel O’Connor, whenever we sit down to decide, to think about what the next movie should be, we always think about what the Peter Parker story should be. And it really is about focusing more on Peter than Spider-Man which makes a good movie."

That's a philosophy that's been at the center of the franchise for years. Peter Parker has always worked best when audiences connect with the person underneath the mask, and Brand New Day clearly leaned into that idea.

One of the movie's biggest surprises was introducing Jean Gray into Peter's story. While comic fans know Spider-Man and the X-Men have crossed paths many times over the years, Pascal revealed that the character wasn't chosen simply because of her comic history.

It all came from Cretton's vision for what the movie should actually be about. She said: "The comics are connected all the time between X-Men and everything else.

We didn’t pick Jean Gray because she was part of the X-Men, we picked Jean Gray because [director] Destin [Daniel Cretton] came in and said, ‘If you guys want to do a movie that is about the way people feel isolated, even more today than ever, because of our technology and everything else, and not just young people, but everybody. But it has afflicted young people so much. If we can do a movie that is about how reaching out and making a connection to someone is the most important thing that you can do, then I understand how to do this movie.’

“And he was the one who said, ‘I really think it would be great if the villain could be a teenager,’ instead of all the monsters we’ve done in the past. Because the other truth about Peter Parker is, the best stories are when the villains have the same problem that he does in the anonymity and feeling isolated. It just seemed like the right story to tell for today, because it’s something that we can all relate to."

That creative approach seems to have been exactly what the franchise needed. Rather than chasing another multiverse event, the filmmakers found something much more relatable, a story centered on loneliness, connection, and characters struggling with the same emotional battles.

Pascal says that's always been the secret ingredient. She explained: "The key is for all of us who work on these movies together is to really focus on telling a story about Peter Parker, not telling and not telling a story about the end of the world or things that none of us can really relate to.

“The wonderful thing about Peter is he’s just a kid with no money and no girlfriend, and no game. That’s what makes him such a heroic character and such a mythic character for people, because all he is is a good guy."

That grounded approach also played a major role in bringing Cretton aboard. Pascal couldn't say enough about the filmmaker, saying:

"Remarkable job. And the thing about Destin is, everything with him comes from a place of authenticity, a place of emotion. And when we met with him the first time, it was so clear that he had to be the director of this. The way to make a great movie is to work with a great director. That’s just the truth."

Interestingly, Cretton didn't walk into the meeting with an elaborate presentation or flashy concept art. Pascal revealed:

"No, not at all. He didn’t have to. First of all, I loved Shang-Chi, Short Term 12 and No Mercy. Kevin had a great working relationship with him on Shang-Chi. We knew that he knew how to do action, and that he would do action that was different. We really wanted to tell a movie that was a more ground-level, kind of practical Spider-Man, and he came in and said, ‘I want to respect the laws of physics in this movie.’"

That also helps explain why the action in Brand New Day feels so different from some of the larger-than-life superhero spectacles audiences have gotten used to.

As for whether Cretton will stick around for another installment, Pascal sounds hopeful. "There’s no writers room. If we have our way, he certainly will be."

She also confirmed that Sony and Marvel are still operating exactly as they always have. "Yes, it’s always been a picture-by-picture basis. I love working with Kevin, Marvel and [Marvel co-president] Lou [D’Esposito] and all those guys. It’s such a wonderful partnership, and I think we always put Peter first, and that’s why it works."

With superhero fatigue continuing to be one of Hollywood's favorite talking points, Pascal doesn't buy into the idea at all.

She said: "No, I don’t think any of that is ever a real thing. If you make a good movie that people can relate to, I think they relate to it and they want to see it. People go to movies emotionally.

“They go to movies about characters that they care about and Spider-Man is at the top of the heap. And to be honest with you, I don’t really think of these movies as superhero movies. Tom gave a beautiful performance in this movie. I think we had so many fantastic actors.

“The beautiful thing that Destin did in the movie is all the different stories, whether it was the story of Sadie Sink’s character or Punisher story or Bruce Banner. All of them have the same problem: They are all living this kind of life of isolation where there’s something inside them that they can’t control.

“I think that the best movies are when the whole thing is a cohesive unit and every character is telling the story that you want to be telling about Peter."

When asked about Tom Holland returning for another movie, Pascal explained that the team has always resisted planning too far ahead.

She said: "The funny thing is from the very beginning, we’ve never planned the next thing. I remember after the first Spider-Man movie came out, Sam Raimi said to me, ‘I don’t have anything else to say’ and I said, ‘I just don’t believe you.’

“I think that’s good about making these movies is that they have to stand on their own, is that it makes the movie singular in a very different way. I think it’s proven to be a good formula because they each have to be movies on their own."

Pascal also took a moment to celebrate what has been a terrific year for movie theaters overall, pointing to several massive theatrical hits.

She said: "God, look at this year. There’s been so many huge movies, Toy Story 5, and Odyssey. Jesus Christ, Chris Nolan was able to make people think that Homer was cool. When you understand how to make movies for the people want to see, that touch them, they’re gonna go. I’ve always believed in the theatrical experience because there isn’t anything like it."

Finally, Pascal offered a brief update on another iconic franchise she's now helping shape, James Bond. While she didn't reveal who the next 007 will be, she hinted fans may not have to wait too much longer for some news.

"I would say the end of the year is a good bet. We are being really, really methodical. Having worked with Barbara Broccoli at the studio, I mean, Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow. And it’s got to be something really different that is a stirring and exciting and different."

Whether it's Spider-Man or James Bond, Pascal seems committed to putting story and character ahead of spectacle. Judging by the incredible response to Brand New Day, that approach is still paying off in a big way.