Both Live-Action 2026 Spider-Man Projects May Be Adapting The Same Iconic Storyline

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Fans might see a famous Spider-Man story brought to life on screen twice this year. The plot shown in the trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day strongly echoes a key storyline from Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Interestingly, elements of this same story may also appear in the Spider-Noir movie, though perhaps in a different way.

The trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day shows that Peter Parker’s DNA is changing, which is affecting his powers. While it’s unknown what this will ultimately mean, this isn’t the first time Spider-Man has faced such a challenge. The idea of his abilities being altered has been used in many stories over the years, so there are several ways this new plot could go.

The comic series Spider-Man: Brand New Day hints that Peter Parker might become Man-Spider. If this occurs, it wouldn’t be the first time audiences have seen this version of the character – it could happen a second time.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day May Be Adapting The Man-Spider Story

The trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day shows Spider-Man’s DNA changing, which is similar to a plotline from Spider-Man: The Animated Series. In that series, Spider-Man accidentally turned himself into a more spider-like creature called Man-Spider when he tried to solve a problem on his own.

It’s possible Spider-Man will make a similar error again, particularly because he’s already turned to Bruce Banner for help. In the series, Peter Parker previously consulted an expert, Dr. Curt Connors, for guidance. Dr. Connors’ warnings about his own DNA mutations actually led Spider-Man to rush into a quick – and ultimately damaging – attempt to fix the situation.

It’s also possible that Brand New Day is setting up a movie adaptation of the “Man-Spider” storyline. This story, originally published in The Amazing Spider-Man in 1971 and later known as the “Six Arms Saga,” featured Peter Parker growing four extra arms.

The Man-Spider transformation is now far more well-known. More importantly, it would be much more shocking and frightening than Peter Parker just growing extra arms, which is what happened in the original comics.

Spider-Noir Could Also Be Adapting Man-Spider (But Very Differently)

As a Spider-Man fan, I’ve been paying close attention to everything coming out, and I think we’re going to see the ‘Man-Spider’ storyline show up in the Nicolas Cage Spider-Noir series on Prime Video. The trailer had a quick shot of what looked like Cage, bald and with these… spider-leg things growing out of him, plus a really distorted face. It was brief, but it definitely hinted at that darker, more monstrous side of Peter Parker we’ve seen in the comics.

There’s no official explanation yet, but there are some good theories. Because Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Man is actually Ben Reilly, not Peter Parker, many believe the Spider-Noir universe is based on the ‘Clone Saga’ storyline, where Ben is one of several Spider-Man clones. If that’s true, the spider-like figure shown in the trailer could be a clone that didn’t turn out right.

Another way to look at it is that Nicolas Cage’s version of Ben Reilly is essentially “a spider acting like a human.” Man-Spider could symbolize Ben’s deep-seated fear of losing his humanity and fully transforming into a creature more spider than man – a fate similar to the one Dr. Connors warned Peter about in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

If the rumors are true and Peter Parker undergoes a scary change in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the upcoming project might have a lot in common with other Spider-Man stories, even though they might feel very different. Both already feature the villain Tombstone, and could potentially include Man-Spider, along with other shared characters.

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2026-03-21 18:03