Spider-Man: Brand New Day is unsurprisingly packed with Easter eggs and references that reward close attention from viewers familiar with the wider Marvel landscape. One of those includes a clear nod to Thunderbolts*, placing the film firmly within the ongoing shared universe and connecting it to other recent entries. Among the various details scattered throughout Ned Leeds’ living space is a prominent Naruto poster that stands out once the camera lingers in his room during several key sequences.
Jacob Batalon addressed the poster’s presence during a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter. “Yeah, he’s definitely shouting himself out there, and we absolutely talked about his Naruto movie. So it was a really cool nod to himself. He deserves it,” the actor explained when discussing director Destin Daniel Cretton’s involvement. The exchange confirmed the artwork was no accidental set dressing but a deliberate choice made during production to reflect both character and creative interests.
The Naruto poster appears in Ned’s room across multiple scenes inside the apartment he shares with MJ after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. It sits alongside other markers of his interests, from LEGO builds referencing Star Wars to familiar genre favorites that help establish the character’s more adult surroundings and daily life. The careful placement gives the background a lived-in quality while quietly linking the film’s creative team to a different major franchise outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Cretton has been developing the live-action Naruto adaptation for Lionsgate for several years after previously directing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and he moved the project into active pre-production in 2026. A worldwide casting search launched in July to find performers for the central Team 7 roles of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, with additional supporting parts to follow later. Cretton is both directing and writing the feature, which aims to adapt Masashi Kishimoto’s long-running story of the Hidden Leaf Village for the big screen in a faithful yet cinematic style. No release date has been set, though the recent casting push signals the film is advancing after years of development delays.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now showing in theaters worldwide following its late July release. The Tom Holland-led sequel opened to a record $360 million domestic weekend, surpassing Avengers: Endgame for the biggest North American debut of all time, while its global opening reached approximately $932 million and ranked as the second-highest worldwide launch behind only that earlier Marvel title.
