Spider-Man: Brand New Day co-writer reveals scrapped early ideas including Kraven Home Alone concept and Matt Murdock courtroom comedy

Chris McKenna, co-writer on every Tom Holland Spider-Man film to date, has revealed several early story ideas that did not make the final cut for Spider-Man: Brand New Day and No Way Home during an interview on the Bulwark Goes to Hollywood podcast.

McKenna explained that he and co-writer Erik Sommers faced significant creative constraints during development due to the shared-custody agreement between Sony and Marvel Studios over Spider-Man characters. This limitation led the pair to explore unconventional villain concepts.

One scrapped idea involved Kraven as a secondary antagonist rather than the film's main villain. "Kraven turning New York City into, like, a Home Alone trap for Spider-Man, where he's got booby traps everywhere, and [is] just hunting down Peter Parker," McKenna described. He noted Kraven could have been hired by someone else in the story, functioning as a persistent threat throughout rather than taking centre stage. The concept was abandoned after Sony greenlit a standalone Kraven film starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, eliminating the possibility of his inclusion in a Spider-Man movie.

For Brand New Day specifically, McKenna outlined a completely different narrative arc before the filmmakers settled on the Jean Grey introduction that ultimately appeared. In this earlier version, Peter Parker would have abandoned New York entirely, becoming a vigilante operating in Southeast Asia and living on a river boat while building his own web fluid.

The plot would have centred on an imposter Spider-Man appearing back in New York, prompting Peter's return to the city. Upon arrival, he discovers this impostor has copyrighted and trademarked the Spider-Man brand and is using Peter's stolen web fluid and suit. "Then [Peter] had to hire Matt Murdock as a lawyer to help him fight," McKenna said, describing how the imposter serves Peter with a cease-and-desist order claiming Peter cannot use the Spider-Man identity.

Despite these abandoned concepts, Brand New Day has become the highest-grossing film of all time domestically in the United States, surpassing Star Wars: The Force Awakens' decade-long record. McKenna noted that while both early ideas had merit, the filmmakers are satisfied with the direction they ultimately chose.