Brand New Day Just Tease Norman Osborn’s Oscorp?

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Brand New Day!A small moment in Spider-Man: Brand New Day might be the latest setup for Norman Osborn and Oscorp joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Osborn and Oscorp are foundational parts of Spider-Man lore, playing a central role in Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy and taking on a different form in Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man films, the MCU has made four movies with Tom Holland’s version without either.

Yes, Willem Dafoe played Green Goblin again in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but that was through the multiverse. The MCU has taken the approach of pitting Spider-Man against villains he hasn’t already faced on the big screen. That meant Vulture, Scorpion, and Shocker in Homecoming and Mysterio in Far From Home, while he got the multiversal versions of Norman, Doc Ock, Electro, Sandman, and Lizard.

Brand New Day‘s villains continue this tradition by making Peter battle a host of antagonists beyond his usual rogues’ gallery: Damage Control, The Hand, Hulk, and Jean Grey. To be clear, there is no direct role for Norman or a namedrop for him or Oscorp. Yet, a seemingly innocent conversation between MJ and Ned may have established their place in the MCU.

During a party at their apartment, Ned asks MJ about a job interview she had earlier that day, which went well enough for her to get the job before turning it down. Brand New Day doesn’t provide much of any details about where she interviewed at or what job she was up for, but the clues related to the tease make Oscorp a plausible option, potentially making this a piece of setup for Norman and his business joining the MCU.

MJ’s Job Interview Being With Oscorp Would Make Sense

The biggest tease that Brand New Day offers about the place MJ interviewed at is her calling it a “soulless corporation.” This could be an accurate descriptor for countless businesses, especially with how MJ views the world. But in terms of looking at Marvel Comics and New York-based corporations, Oscorp certainly fits the bill and is arguably the biggest one.

The MCU has also made it clear why MJ would be someone who could get a job at Oscorp if she wanted to. She was one of the smartest people in her class in high school and made it into MIT because of her excellent academics. Brand New Day even reveals that she majored in aerospace engineering. Given all the different scientific avenues Oscorp explores, someone with an aerospace engineering degree would fit right in.

There is even some minor comic precedent for the idea of MJ working at Oscorp. She was an employee there on Earth-3109, a world where Harry Osborn was bitten by a radioactive spider, and Gwen Stacy became Green Goblin. Marvel Studios certainly isn’t looking to adapt this for the MCU, but it does go to show that Marvel has tinkered with this idea before.

Considering the MCU’s need to build up a world where Oscorp exists, small lines like this one in Brand New Day could become part of the setup, even if it wasn’t intentional. But since this is a Spider-Man movie, the thought that this is a subtle Oscorp tease does make a lot more sense. If a different character said this in a different movie, it wouldn’t be a big deal. However, MJ saying it here raises some eyebrows.

Brand New Day’s Tease Would Build On No Way Home’s Oscorp Set Up

Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin unmasked and crying in Spider-Man: No Way Home — Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin unmasked and crying in Spider-Man: No Way Home

MJ and Ned’s conversation feels a bit more notable, too, after No Way Home. The movie has Dafoe’s Norman explain that upon arriving in Earth-616, he attempted to learn about his place in it. In addition to finding someone else in his house, Norman confirmed that Oscorp did not exist, or at least is not widely known.

At the time, this was Marvel providing an explanation for Oscorp’s lack of presence in Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy. But it also doubled as the MCU’s first attempt at acknowledging Norman, his business, and his son. Since then, the question has been if Marvel would circle back around to this tease and expand upon it, allowing these key elements of Spider-Man’s world to enter the MCU before too long.

What’s important to remember is that Brand New Day takes place 4 or 5 years after No Way Home. That is a lot of time for a new technology company to rise to prominence or even enter the mix as a start-up on a path to becoming a mega-corporation. Either scenario would allow Oscorp to be an established business by the time of Brand New Day‘s events and in a position where it could be looking for new hires.

Will Spider-Man 5 Introduce The MCU’s Norman Osborn & Oscorp Next?

Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin standing ominously in Spider-Man

These small details put the MCU in a position where Norman and Oscorp could finally enter the mix with Spider-Man 5. Marvel and Sony have yet to officially announce another solo film for Holland’s character, but the studios and star have both teased discussions and plans for the future. And with Brand New Day‘s record box office performance, Spider-Man 5 is a given.

After battling villains who haven’t been in movies before and the wider Marvel universe, it could be the perfect time for Norman and Oscorp to be introduced. They wouldn’t even necessarily have to be the main villain of Spider-Man 5. It might be tricky to have Norman be a mentor to Peter given he knows the villainous turn he takes in another universe, but that would make his introduction all the more fascinating for Peter to navigate.

It’s difficult to imagine Marvel Studios ignoring Norman and Oscorp forever, too. There is too much potential for great stories, including fresh material previous Spider-Man movies didn’t touch, to never touch them. Spider-Man 5 could go straight to Norman being Iron Patriot, launching his Dark Avengers team, or rebuilding SHIELD to help potentially throw Peter off the scent about his Earth’s Norman ultimately being a bad guy.

There is always the chance the MCU never touches Norman or Oscorp, or that they delay their introduction until Miles Morales is in the picture, making them central figures in Peter’s replacement’s story. But it would be a tad disappointing if Holland’s Spider-Man never gets his own turn battling a fresh Green Goblin or sparking a friendship with Harry. Hopefully, this Spider-Man: Brand New Day line winds up being an indicator that Oscorp is coming in Spider-Man 5 or beyond.