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Published Jan 23, 2026, 9:30 PM EST
Since 2019, Kevin Erdmann has been one of Screen Rant's Senior Staff Writers, covering all kinds of Superhero and Star Wars media with Easter egg breakdowns, theory pieces, breaking news, and more. A huge Star Wars & MCU fan, Kevin also loves Batman (because he's Batman), but could talk for hours about why Nightwing is DC's greatest hero.
With 8 years of total experience covering entertainment and pop culture, Kevin has gotten the chance to interview top creatives and talent, and has also attended major media events like Disney's D23 convention.
Majoring in Cinema Studies with a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife, adorable dog, and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.
Early reviews for Marvel's Wonder Man are a very good sign for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Thanks to several positive reactions and one of the very best Rotten Tomatoes scores for an MCU show, Marvel fans looking ahead should be getting even more excited for the first MCU movie of the year.
Set to release all eight episodes at once, Wonder Man will begin streaming on January 27th. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released in theaters at the end of July. Despite being very different projects, one key factor ties them together, explaining why Wonder Man's success likely bodes well for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Early Wonder Man Reviews Are In With A 92% Rotten Tomatoes Score
Early reviews for Wonder Man have been overwhelmingly positive, landing the series at a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics at the time of writing this post. For reference, that's the same score earned by WandaVision, Loki, and Hawkeye, the only other MCU show having a higher score being Ms. Marvel at 98%.
Various critics have been praising Wonder Man's leading performances and emotional vulnerability. Having seen the new MCU series myself, I can attest that the show is easily one of the MCU’s most character-driven and captivating projects in years.
Keeping Wonder Man's success with critics in mind, I also think the show will be well-received by audiences ready and willing to see an MCU project unlike most they've seen before. Furthermore, my confidence is now even higher for Spider-Man: Brand New Day in July.
This Is A Great Sign For Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Also From Destin Daniel Cretton)
Destin Daniel Cretton serves as one of the key creators of Wonder Man. However, he's also directing Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Having already teased a tonal shift and a new era for the MCU's Spider-Man following his first trilogy of films, the expectation is that Cretton's new vision for Peter Parker will be of the same caliber being praised in his new MCU show.
Although Brand New Day will likely have more action and far bigger set pieces as a big-budget superhero blockbuster, one can only hope that it will have a degree of the same character depth that's already being celebrated in Wonder Man.
It certainly seems like Destin Daniel Cretton has a strong level of trust and creative freedom from Marvel Studios. Likewise, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is yet another testament to Cretton's work in the MCU. With any luck, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be yet another major success when it releases later this year.
Marvel's Wonder Man premieres January 27th on Disney+. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to release in theaters on July 31st.
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Wonder Man
Release Date January 27, 2026
Network Disney+
Writers Andrew Guest
Franchise(s) MCU
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Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Simon Williams
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Demetrius Grosse
Eric Williams
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English (US) ·