“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has delivered a stellar box-office run, but co-writer Chris McKenna recently revealed in an interview with The Bulwark that the movie went through several major overhauls before reaching the screen. One of the biggest obstacles was Sony's rollout of Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) titles including “Morbius,” “Madame Web” and “Kraven the Hunter,” which repeatedly took potential villains off the table.
McKenna said the core concept of Peter Parker undergoing an “evolution” appeared in the earliest pitches for Brand New Day, only to be shelved before the team eventually circled back to it. He joked that when the idea was pitched again, others reacted as though they had never heard it before, leaving him thinking that the writers had already proposed it 18 months earlier.
One early version would have seen Peter, erased from MJ’s memory, pose as a British man to get close to her. The idea would have allowed Tom Holland to use his natural accent while introducing himself as Ben Reilly. Another draft sent Peter to Southeast Asia to fight criminal gangs. When he returned to New York City, he discovered that an impostor Spider-Man had stolen his suit and web fluid—and even trademarked the Spider-Man name—forcing him to hire Daredevil alter ego Matt Murdock for a legal battle.
The revolving door of unavailable villains proved to be the writers’ biggest headache. McKenna revealed that the Spot had been considered during development on “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” but the idea was abandoned after “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” claimed the character first. The team later devised a storyline in which Kraven filled New York City with traps to hunt Peter, only to learn that Sony had decided to make a standalone movie about him.
For Brand New Day, the writers then considered Chameleon—until “Kraven the Hunter” used him as well. McKenna acknowledged that the process was deeply frustrating and felt as though the different productions were constantly stealing each other’s lunch.
The story eventually pivoted toward telepathic powers, pushing the movie into mutant territory and colliding with Disney’s developing X-Men plans following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Shadow King was also considered, but the character’s previous appearance in “Legion” created yet another roadblock. 
McKenna was not told that the team could use Jean Grey until September 2024, roughly 11 months before Brand New Day began principal photography. Only then did the movie’s final villain storyline fall into place.
via： The Bulwark