Who is Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

Aug 3, 2026

Director Deston Daniel Cretton with Tom Holland on the set of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Photo: @destindaniel/Instagram

Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon reprise their roles while Jon Bernthal and Sadie Sink join the cast – but what do we know about the film’s director?

Your friendly neighbourhood web-slinger is back in theatres with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the fourth instalment of the film series that follows Marvel’s Spider-Man “Home” trilogy.

Tom Holland plays Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Photo: Sony Pictures/TNS

The new film, which was released in the US on July 31, debuted with an impressive 98 per cent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and sees the return of Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Zendaya and Jacob Batalon reprise their roles as MJ and Ned respectively, while new cast members include Jon Bernthal and Sadie Sink, whose role in the MCU was kept tightly under wraps before the release of the film. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has already hit US$355 million domestically, with the second-biggest opening weekend in box office history.

It also marks director Destin Daniel Cretton’s first time working on a Spider-Man film, although he is no stranger to the MCU, having directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021).

Destin Daniel Cretton at the UK premiere of Spider-Man: Brand New Day in London in July. Photo: EPA

Here’s everything you need to know about Destin Daniel Cretton.

Destin Daniel Cretton is of Japanese-American descent

Destin Daniel Cretton with his siblings. Photo: @destindaniel/Instagram

Cretton hails from Haiku, Hawaii. He was born in November 1978 to Japanese-American mother Janice, and American father Dan. Cretton and his five siblings were home-schooled by their parents.

Not allowed to watch television as a child, Cretton was 10 years old when his grandmother gifted him a VHS camera, which kick-started his passion for directing. According to a 2017 interview with Maui News, Cretton would direct plays, commercials and more with his family.

Cretton’s younger sister, Joy, is a costume designer and has worked on several of his films.

Who is Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon reprise their roles while Jon Bernthal and Sadie Sink join the cast – but what do we know about the film’s director?

Destin Daniel Cretton is of Japanese-American descent

From short films to cinema’s biggest film franchise

Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon reprise their roles while Jon Bernthal and Sadie Sink join the cast – but what do we know about the film’s director?