Swinging into cinemas with a massive $927m global box office debut, it’s safe to say Spider-Man: Brand New Day is getting some serious hype. And it’s no surprise when you look at the film’s star-studded cast, vibrant action scenes and stunning VFX, but underneath it all, the production had some unexpectedly practical tricks.
In a behind-the-scenes sneak peek, director Destin Daniel Cretton revealed how a short subway scene was more complex than meets the eye. Using practical effects and immersive set design, Cretton and his team brought the New York Subway to Pinewood Studios.
Destin Daniel Cretton has revealed how they shot scenes in the subway practically for ‘SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY’. pic.twitter.com/HvZpbxgQTbAugust 2, 2026
Logistically, filming on the New York subway is next to impossible given the commuters and noise pollution, so the Brand New Day team had to get creative. Opting to create their own Subway car, no attention to detail was spared, with functioning doors, realistic ads and even grimy, graffiti-covered windows.
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But how to create a sense of movement? Green screen obviously… or at least you’d think so. Instead, Cretton opted for a huge screen placed outside the Subway car, which created the illusion of movement with its blurred lines of light.
It might seem like a minor detail for such a short scene, but many fans were delighted with Cretton’s use of practical effects, claiming it made the movie feel more authentic. “CGI has its place but when they actually build and shoot that stuff for real it just hits different,” one fan on X wrote, while another added, “Practical subway sets in a modern Marvel movie… Destin Daniel Cretton is out here treating Spider-Man like cinema again.”
For more movie news, check out why Brand New Day proves the hero’s greatest power has always been reinvention or take a look at why the Brand New Day trailer’s global launch was genius.
