{"id":672226,"date":"2026-01-04T00:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T00:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/672226\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T00:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T00:28:09","slug":"spider-man-fans-are-convinced-brand-new-day-is-adding-the-worst-marvel-character-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/672226\/","title":{"rendered":"Spider-Man Fans Are Convinced Brand New Day is Adding The Worst Marvel Character Possible"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spider-Man: Brand New Day<\/a> is one of the most anticipated movies of the year, and not just because it marks the return of Tom Holland\u2019s beloved iteration of Peter Parker. Keeping in line with the other solo Spider-Man films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Brand New Day features a bevy of fan-favorite characters, including Hulk, the Punisher, Scorpion, and Tombstone. As rumors continue to circulate, people are theorizing about other characters that might show up, as there have been conversations surrounding an assortment of villains and even Mayday Parker. The latest bit of speculation concerns a reportedly recent addition to the Brand New Day cast \u2014 and it\u2019s about a character fans won\u2019t be happy to see.<\/p>\n

Industry insider Daniel Richtman has reported that Star Wars: Ahsoka star Eman Esfandi has joined the stacked Brand New Day ensemble<\/a>. Details about his role are largely being kept under wraps, but Richtman did note that Esfandi will portray MJ\u2019s new boyfriend. This has Marvel fans under the impression that the MCU is about to bring the despised character of Paul Rabin to the big screen. Many people have voiced their displeasure with the possibility in the replies on a tweet from X user @mcuspider616.<\/p>\n

Who Is Paul Rabin, and Will He Be in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?<\/p>\n

Paul Rabin first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 6) #1, which was published back in 2022. He comes from a different reality (Earth-23321) and is the son of the Emissary. The character has drawn the ire of fans for one simple reason<\/a> \u2014 he developed a romantic relationship with Mary Jane Watson. To many comics readers, Paul exists simple as a means to keep Peter and MJ apart. The way Paul has been written has been subject to criticism. He isn\u2019t a villain (he\u2019s actually been very supportive and caring), making it difficult to position him as a true rival fans can root against. Other than being involved with MJ, comics readers don\u2019t really have a reason to dislike him, which is what makes him a frustrating presence. Fans want Peter and MJ to be together, but Paul prevents that from happening.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to see why Spider-Man fans are speculating Paul could show up in Brand New Day. There have already been rumors that MJ has a new boyfriend in the movie<\/a>, a development that builds off of Spider-Man: No Way Home\u2018s emotional ending and causes Peter to snap (sending him down a dark path). Assuming that\u2019s the character Esfandi is playing, the actor could convincingly pull off a character like Paul. Not only does he have the right look for it, Esfandi can lean into his charming screen presence and craft Paul into someone who\u2019s a likable and kind-hearted person.<\/p>\n

Esfandi playing a new love interest for MJ is believable enough. Whether or not it\u2019s Paul is another question. The odds of MJ having a significant role in Brand New Day are seemingly low; her inclusion is likely to help establish Peter\u2019s frame of mind at the start of the film. It sounds like Peter is having a very difficult time moving on after the events of No Way Home, keeping tabs on MJ and Ned from afar even though he\u2019s no longer close with them. If MJ is just in a scene or two at the beginning to lay a foundation for Peter\u2019s character arc, Esfandi\u2019s character may not even have a name in the film. He could just be credited as \u201cMJ\u2019s New Boyfriend\u201d without any further elaboration.<\/p>\n

Having Esfandi\u2019s character go nameless might be for the best. There\u2019s too much baggage with Paul, and with everything Brand New Day has on its plate, trying to work in a comics-accurate portrayal of one of the most controversial characters in Marvel Comics history doesn\u2019t seem like a wise idea. The MCU is banking on Brand New Day to be part of a much-needed turnaround in 2026<\/a> to get the franchise back on track. Introducing such a volatile element like Paul has the potential to backfire. It will be difficult enough for viewers to see MJ with a new partner in Brand New Day, but making it the MCU\u2019s version of Paul would be like rubbing salt in the wound. All Esfandi needs to be is just a generic new boyfriend with a different name to illustrate that MJ has moved on with her life.<\/p>\n

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the\u00a0ComicBook Forum<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spider-Man: Brand New Day is one of the most anticipated movies of the year, and not just because…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672227,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3935],"tags":[204570,77,15576,3943,968,26697,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-672226","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-eman-esfandi","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-marvel-cinematic-universe","11":"tag-movies","12":"tag-regular-news","13":"tag-spider-man-brand-new-day","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115834002337402268","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}