Spider-Man: Brand New Day Reveals MJ’s Brand New Boyfriend

After erasing everyone's memory of Peter Parker at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter has wasted no time continuing his career as Spider-Man, but Spider-Man: Brand New Day's official trailer shows that he's living a lonely, sad life in New York City. Still pining after MJ – who's now attending MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts with Ned Leeds – Peter is determined to reconnect with the love of his life, even if it means giving up his secret identity. Unfortunately for Peter, the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer includes a shot of Peter running into MJ at a party, while a young man cozies up to her – presumably her new boyfriend.

The MCU is a fan of comics synergy, and MJ's most recent love interest in the Spider-Man comics was Paul Rabin, one of the most controversial and hated characters in Marvel history. Paul exists solely to keep MJ apart, and while it makes sense Brand New Day will include an MJ who's moved on with her life (especially since she doesn't remember Peter), this still spells bad news for Spider-Man & MJ fans. Paul or not, MJ's new boyfriend will be played by Eman Esfandi, who also played Ezra Walker in the Ahsoka TV series.

Peter Runs Into MJ's New Boyfriend in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day Official Trailer

Most of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day official trailer is dedicated to showing how Peter's life has changed since the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. He's still patrolling the streets of New York, but he's now built a relationship with vigilantes like Frank Castle (The Punisher), and fighting off villains like The Hand (who fans of Daredevil will instantly recognize). Not just that, Peter's body is mutating as he now has access to organic web shooters as seen in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.

Wanting nothing more than to rekindle his relationship with MJ, the trailer shows Peter seemingly traveling to MIT and attending a house-warming party thrown by MJ & Ned. At the party, Peter intends to give her flowers (and likely the letter he narrates earlier in the trailer), but stops himself when he sees a college student (Eman Esfandi) lovingly move MJ's hair out of her face. While he may have a different name in the final, Esfandi is clearly playing MJ's boyfriend and analogous to Paul's recent role in the Spider-Man comics.

Paul is One of the Most Controversial Characters in Marvel History

MJ dating men who aren't Peter Park is nothing new, especially in a post-Spider-Man: One More Day world, which Spider-Man: Brand New Day is loosely adapting. The problem with Paul is that his relationship with MJ abruptly happened off-screen, lasts far too long in the comics, and exists solely to make Peter Parker's life as miserable as possible.

Marvel torturing Spider-Man is also nothing new – something comic readers know all too well – but Paul strikes up a relationship with MJ out of nowhere following a major time skip in the comics. It doesn't help that Peter and MJ were actually on an upswing in their relationship before the Paul of it all. It doesn't help that Paul has little to no personality and comes off generally unlikable despite the comics desperately trying to make him seem likable.

Eman Esfandi is a good actor, and the MCU has generally done a good job of punching up some of the comics' most controversial storylines and characters (just compare the Civil War comics to Captain America: Civil War), so it's possible Paul's depiction in Spider-Man: Brand New Day won't actually be that bad. At the end of the day, though, Paul exitsts to keep Peter and MJ apart, and giving Brand New Day's framing, Marvel fans should brace themselves for the possibility that MJ will ultimately choose Paul over Peter at the end of the film.