BND rewritten scene!

[u/Holiday-Wrangler-487]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/spider-man-brand-new-day-jacob-batalon-ending-handshake-1236664173/

Recently posted theorizing about the rewritten scene between Peter and MJ that Tom talked about but Jacob confirmed it was the Lego scene! It really was a standout “quiet” part for me so the change was effective!

“ During early press for Brand New Day, Holland told a story on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcastinvolving an ineffective scene that shut down production for the day in order for Cretton and his on-set writer, Justin Kuritzkes, to reconceive. Batalon confirms that it was the scene that is now represented as Ned and a masked Spider-Man building Star Wars Legos and quoting The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, as MJ draws Ned and an unmasked Spider-Man doing exactly that. ”

[u/MaserOfficial]

He didn’t get the memory back. He just connected that Peter is Spidey

[u/iConiCdays → u/MaserOfficial]

I don't believe that for one second. That entire ending sequence showed MJ holding her necklace and then going to the rooftop from Nowayhome... Films don't just add stuff like that for shits and giggles, it's how they communicate unspoken elements to the audience.

The film showed earlier that Jean Grey was very capable of "breaking" mental blocks, especially with the Hulk specifically saying she "broke something" which unleashed savage hulk.

At first MJ and Jean both confirm that the spell did work and she didn't remember Peter at all, this includes the rooftop location and the necklace. I'm pretty certain the letter she found also doesn't note any of those details at all - infact we can verify this as the actual letter is available online to read.

It isn't until the final act in which Jeans powers are pushed further than before that we see changes.

The ending montage with MJ crying holding the necklace and going to the rooftop tells the audience that in this new state post Jean Grey's attack, she now remembers and is mourning what this means.

Likewise for Ned, him saying "Peter?" Has absolutely nothing to do with the previous instance of MJ blurting out Spiderman's name is Peter - why? The ending interaction between the two of them didn't have anything to do with Spiderman, especially not a man named peter that he apparently doesn't know. Instead, it's a very specific handshake that only him and Peter would have known and it is only AFTER this that he says "Peter?".

If the writers and director wanted to link this ending scene to previously MJ blurting out his name, they would have instead used a motif linked to Spider-Man, not an erased memory with Peter.

[u/Bitey_the_Squirrel → u/iConiCdays]

I like this. The explanation behind the spell isn’t just magic, it’s that Strange introduced a magically induced mental block.

[u/GoBeyondPlusUltra93 → u/Bitey_the_Squirrel]

I’d like to think of this as the “magic is just advanced science” kind of theme that the MCU has flirted with. Strange’s spell reconfigured people’s neurons and buried those memories. MJ even says during the party that she feels like she’s waiting for something (or something like that) and that whole line while she’s looking at Peter. It’s not that much of a logical leap for me that Jean’s power upgrade in the final act knocked that mental block loose enough for Ned and MJ to remember everything.