The writers of Spider-Man: Brand New Day say Jean Grey, the MCU’s first X-Men cast member, did not kill anyone in the film. Technically.
Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who have written all four Tom Holland solo Spider-Man movies, made the case in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. The clarification lands as fans debate a sequence in which a bystander appears to be hit by a bus after Jean starts taking over the minds of the people around her.
I think technically, she’s not responsible for any deaths. But you come away with the impression, certainly, that she’s caused a lot of destruction in mayhem. Even if you’re going to have a villain who really is redeemed at the end or goes through a transformation, you have to start them off in a place where they feel formidable.
Erik Sommers, Spider-Man: Brand New Day co-writer
Jean Grey (Sadie Sink) spends most of the film as a threat. She inhabits people’s bodies and forces them to do her bidding while hunting for her sister Sara Grey (Olivia Booth-Ford), who is being held and experimented on by Damage Control — the film went to lengths to hide her role. The rooftop scene where she wears MJ’s face is the film’s cruelest beat, and, per the writers, a death-free one. Whether the man hit by the bus died is left to the internet, which has opinions.
McKenna says holding the reveal was the point:
We were in Peter’s shoes. We were not putting the audience ahead of him, so he was reacting to everything, and we were with him reacting.
Chris McKenna, Spider-Man: Brand New Day co-writer
The bus debate is happening at scale. Brand New Day opened on 31 July and has passed $1.68 billion globally, taking the biggest first week domestically of all time from Avengers: Endgame — a run we covered when it set the opening-weekend record. The writers’ position is that Jean had to feel formidable for the redemption to land.
A proper X-Men film follows Avengers: Secret Wars. Costume designer Sanja Milkovic Hays told Comic Book Resources she kept Jean out of a comic-accurate suit on purpose — “the story is about a girl and her sister”, so she “had to look like a cool girl” — with the character’s green and yellow kept as colour signatures.
Brand New Day is still in UAE cinemas, where it held the top spot with AED 12.1 million across the 7–9 August weekend, per our UAE box office report.
Does Jean Grey kill anyone in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
The writers say no. Erik Sommers says she is technically not responsible for any deaths, though she causes widespread destruction by inhabiting people’s bodies and forcing them to act. One bystander appears to be hit by a bus; the film leaves it ambiguous.
Who plays Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
Sadie Sink (Stranger Things, The Whale). She is the first cast member of the MCU’s new X-Men team; her sister Sara Grey is played by Olivia Booth-Ford.
Will Jean Grey wear her X-Men costume?
Not yet. Costume designer Sanja Milkovic Hays kept her out of a comic-accurate suit on purpose — ‘the story is about a girl and her sister’ — though nods to the character’s green and yellow remain. A full X-Men look could come in the X-Men film that follows Avengers: Secret Wars.
Who are the writers of Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, the duo behind all four Tom Holland solo Spider-Man films, from Homecoming (2017) to Brand New Day (2026).
