Zendaya and Tom Holland’s latest Spider-Man movie sparks divide among critics

Tom Holland and Zendaya are two of Hollywood's biggest stars, and after an incredibly busy summer, they're back together on screen.

But while anticipation for the new Spider-Man film has been high, the first reviews suggest their latest collaboration is dividing critics.

After Dr. Strange’s spell at the end of No Way Home, the world has forgotten Peter Parker exists. We reunite with Parker four years later, where he has been anonymously protecting New York City as Spider-Man, but his personal life has suffered - his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) have no idea who he is either.

Brand New Day sees the Marvel hero along with the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and Stranger Things star Sadie Sink for a new adventure. With the arrival of the film, Holland becomes the first actor to star as Spider-Man in four solo movies.

Peter Parker is apparently more mature in Brand New Day (Marvel/Sony)

Critics have been reacting to the film, which arrives in cinemas tomorrow, with lots of praise for it feeling authentic and close to its source material. The Odyssey star Holland is being praised for portraying a more grown up version of Peter Parker, while the cinematography, action and cast have been lauded.

“It’s the first of the Spider-Man MCU films to truly feel like a New York film, even if we’re actually looking at a dressed-up Glasgow, with an earthiness and a liveliness to its frames and a lived-in quality to its production design,” reports the Independent. Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter said Holland ‘bares his soul’ in the new installment.

Fellow The Odyssey actor Zendaya has also been given numerous shout outs for her portrayal of MJ. “Zendaya saves this film. She rescues it from silliness and the generic deja vu overfamiliarity that is always threatening to sink it,” The Guardian said in a review which stated, “a more radical reboot is needed.”

However some of the initial reactions have been more critical. “Brand New Day should have been the movie that got the MCU back on track. Instead, it epitomizes why things have gone off the rails,” said Indie Wire.

Tom Holland and Zendaya's acting have been praised for their acting (Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage)

Other complaints have been directed at the film’s runtime. “If the movie is fun at times, it’s also arduous, overly episodic and half an hour too long,” said Variety.

A lot of praise has been shared for Holland and Zendaya’s on-screen chemistry as Peter and MJ. In the new film, MJ sadly doesn’t remember who her former boyfriend is and enters a new relationship, leaving the web-slinger heartbroken.

Fans of the real-life couple have been going wild as they’ve walked red carpets around the world this summer promoting their movies. The Euphoria star, 29, and English actor, 30, have been publicly together for around five years, after they met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming back in 2016, and their friendship had blossomed into romance by 2021.

In 2025, rumours began swirling that the celebrity couple was engaged after Zendaya was papped wearing a diamond on the ring finger of her left hand.

While the pair are famously private about their romance, Tom confirmed earlier this month in an interview with Esquire that the wedding has already happened and the duo are, in fact, married.