The Marvel film Spider-Man: Brand New Day was partially filmed in Glasgow, Scotland, with the city center doubling as New York City. The movie premiered in London this week after filming wrapped up last summer. According to Screen Scotland, Glasgow's unique architecture and layout made it an ideal stand-in for many US cities. Filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton praised Glasgow as a great filming location due to its welcoming and energetic atmosphere, with thousands of fans gathering to watch Tom Holland film an action sequence.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Tom Holland and Zendaya's new film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, has been making waves at the box office. The movie, which premiered in London earlier this week, has broken several records, including becoming the biggest North American opening weekend ever with $360 million US in ticket sales from theaters in the U.S. and Canada. This surpasses the previous record held by Avengers: Endgame, which had a $357 million US opening weekend. The movie's global opening weekend was even more impressive, bringing in $927m (£687m), making it the second-biggest opening weekend ever globally, behind only Avengers: Endgame's $1.2bn.
The film, which stars Tom Holland and Zendaya, has been a major hit with audiences, with many praising its action-packed sequences and the chemistry between the two leads. The movie's success is also seen as a boost for Marvel Studios ahead of the highly-anticipated release of Avengers: Doomsday in December.
Interestingly, while filming the movie, parts of Glasgow were used to stand-in for New York City, with the city's grid layout and Victorian architecture making it an "incredibly versatile stand-in" for many US cities. The movie has also been praised for its positive portrayal of relationships between characters, with Zendaya saying that when you're best friends, working together is "pretty easy".
Written for “New Spider-Man Film Release” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article uses phrases such as 'warm and welcoming' to describe the people in Glasgow, which could be seen as overly flattering or promotional language. Additionally, the quotes from the filmmakers Destin Daniel Cretton and Amy Pascal are largely positive and enthusiastic about filming in Scotland, which may suggest a biased perspective.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score +0.85 for article 174 · logged 2026-07-31
- Published
Any comic book fan knows that Spider-Man's secret identity is Peter Parker, a science nerd who gained superhero powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider.
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who → publish → spider
But in the latest installment from the Marvel cinematic universe, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Parker - played by Tom Holland - is not the only star in disguise.
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Parker → play → disguise
The action takes place in New York City but much of the movie, which premiered in London this week, was filmed more than 3,000 miles away in Glasgow.
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which → take → Glasgow
Filming almost brought the city centre to a halt last summer, when fans gathered to watch Holland in an action sequence in full superhero mode.
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fans → bring → mode
Parts of the nearby Merchant City were also dressed up to resemble the Big Apple.
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It was the latest in a long line of Hollywood blockbusters to have been filmed in the city in recent years.
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And next month Glasgow is expected to double as Gotham City, when filming starts on the sequel to The Batman.
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filming → expect → Batman
Screen Scotland said the Victorian architecture, wide avenues and grid layout make it an "incredibly versatile stand-in" for many US cities.
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it → say → cities
Filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton praised Scotland as a filming destination during an interview at the premiere on Wednesday.
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Cretton → praise → Wednesday
"I love Scotland," he told Press Association.
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he → love → Association
"I got to go to Scotland first ages ago with a short film to the Edinburgh Film Festival and I fell in love with that place."
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I → get → place
The 37-year-old added: "When we shot in Glasgow, that was our first day shooting and that was just such an energising way to start.
"
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that → add → Glasgow
We had thousands of people show up who are cheering us on and getting excited and feeling that energy which was really a wonderful way to start."
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which → have → energy
Asked about what would draw him back to Scotland, Cretton said: "The people.
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Cretton → ask → people
The people in Glasgow, in particular, were so warm and welcoming and fun and knew how to party and have a good time.
"
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people → know → time
Producer Amy Pascal said "everything about Scotland is great" and that it was "wonderful to make movies in the real places".
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it → say → places
The film follows Parker as he navigates his new life four years on from the events of the last film, 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, which saw a spell cast to make the world forget his real identity so he can save the universe.
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he → follow → universe
His romance with MJ (Zendaya) and his friendship with Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) have also been erased from civilians' minds, leaving a lonely Peter to continue his crime-fighting in secret
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romance → erase → secret
friends experience life at university
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friends → experience → university
Screen Scotland, which supports Scotland's film and TV industry, said: "It's fantastic to see Spiderman: Brand New Day hitting our screens.
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Spiderman → support → screens
"As we can already see from the trailer, Glasgow has a starring role, as the city once again seamlessly doubles for New York.
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city → see → York
"Glasgow's grid layout, wide avenues and Victorian architecture make it an incredibly versatile stand-in for many US cities including New York and Philadelphia and Spiderman: Brand New Day is the latest example of the scale of production the city can accommodate."
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city → make → production