Breaking: 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Script Reveals AI 'Friend' — Fans Revolt
The first three pages of Spider-Man: Brand New Day have ignited a firestorm online after revealing that Peter Parker will rely on an artificial intelligence assistant named E.V. as his only companion. Director Destin Daniel Cretton shared the script excerpts with Entertainment Weekly on Tuesday, prompting immediate backlash from fans who accuse Marvel of replacing human connection with tech.
According to the released pages, the film picks up nine months after the events of No Way Home, where Peter erased himself from everyone's memory. Now living in isolation, he builds his own gadgets—including the AI E.V.—with no access to Tony Stark's resources.
“For the first time, Peter is entirely alone,” Cretton writes in the margins. “Sadly, E.V. is the closest thing Peter has to a friend.”
The announcement has sent social media into a tailspin, with many fans expressing disgust at the idea of Spider-Man befriending an AI instead of real people.
Social Media Erupts: 'Biggest Eye Roll of My Life'
Reactions poured in within minutes of the script leak. One user wrote, “And just like that, I’m not excited for this movie anymore. I don’t like Peter befriending ChatGPT and asking stuff like ‘should I ask her out’ or whatever, no matter how ‘normalized’ it is nowadays.” Another user quipped, “Just did the biggest eye roll of my life.”
Critics also lamented the loss of Spider-Man's iconic internal monologue. “Can’t the neurotic character that talks to himself all the time just talk to himself?” one fan asked. “We just did a whole Batman movie where he was narrating like Taxi Driver.”
Purists argue that an AI-dependent Spider-Man contradicts decades of comic history. “Peter Parker is known from the comics for his extensive internal dialogue and self-talk,” one commenter noted. “He has always had friends, both as Peter and as Spidey. The idea of him being so lonely and pathetic that an AI bot is ‘the closest thing he has to a friend’ is just ridiculous and feels like a violation.”
Background: The Fallout from No Way Home
In Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Peter Parker (Tom Holland) made the ultimate sacrifice: he asked Doctor Strange to erase the world's memory of him to stop a multiversal crisis. That meant his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya), best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) no longer knew who he was. The film ended with Peter alone in a small apartment, starting from scratch.
Brand New Day—directed by Destin Daniel Cretton—directly follows that loneliness. The script annotations confirm Peter has no money, no Stark tech, and no support network. Every piece of equipment, including E.V., is homemade. “All of his tech needs to have been made by Peter,” one annotation reads.
The inclusion of an AI assistant marks a stark departure from previous films, where Peter relied on Stark's gadgets, Aunt May's guidance, or friends like Ned and MJ.
What This Means: A New Direction… or a Step Too Far?
This shift signals Marvel's intent to explore a darker, more isolated Peter Parker—one who must rebuild his life without the safety net of his former identity. However, the backlash suggests that fans see E.V. as a lazy narrative crutch rather than a meaningful character development tool.
By making an AI the “only friend,” the film risks alienating audiences who cherish Spider-Man's humanity. The debate also touches on broader cultural anxieties about AI replacing genuine relationships. If E.V. becomes Peter's confidant, will the film sacrifice the emotional resonance that made No Way Home a hit?
Marvel has not commented on the backlash. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set for release next summer. For now, the internet is watching—and rolling its eyes—closely.