LayarHijau – Spider-Man: Brand New Day has become a massive box office success. Just six days after its North American release, the Marvel film has grossed US$1.15 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie of 2026 so far.
However, the blockbuster has also become the center of controversy in China after director Destin Daniel Cretton denied that the Jackie Chan Stunt Team (JC Stunt Team) was involved in designing the film’s action sequences.
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For nearly a year, the involvement of Jackie Chan’s legendary stunt team had been promoted as one of the movie’s major selling points. But in a recent interview with TheWrap, Cretton clarified that the Jackie Chan Stunt Team did not actually participate in choreographing the action scenes.
He did confirm, however, that Jackie Chan personally flew to London to visit the film’s production during shooting.
According to Cretton, the movie’s action director was Zhang Peng. He explained that the confusion likely arose because Zhang previously worked as Jackie Chan’s stunt double and was mentored by the late Bradley James Allan, an Australian martial arts coordinator who was a fourth-generation member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team.
Cretton also noted that Bradley James Allan served as the action coordinator for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which he also directed. Zhang Peng worked as a stunt coordinator on that film, creating a professional connection that may have led many to assume the Jackie Chan Stunt Team was officially involved in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The director’s remarks quickly sparked backlash from Chinese media and social media users. Many questioned why the Jackie Chan Stunt Team had been repeatedly highlighted during the film’s promotional campaign if it was never officially involved.
“Now that the movie is a huge box office success, are they suddenly refusing to acknowledge it?” one netizen wrote.
Others argued that members of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team may indeed have contributed to the action sequences through Zhang Peng’s team, even if neither Jackie Chan nor the Jackie Chan Stunt Team received official credit.
The controversy has also drawn attention to comments Jackie Chan made last year. While promoting The Shadow’s Edge with Tony Leung Ka-fai in Macau in August 2025, the martial arts icon revealed that after attending the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland to receive a lifetime achievement award, he stopped by the Spider-Man set in London.
At the time, Jackie Chan stated that “our Jackie Chan Stunt Team is working on Spider-Man” and said they were serving as the film’s action directors. He also recalled that the director appeared nervous when they met on set.
Chinese media have since pointed out what they see as a contradiction in Cretton’s explanation. Zhang Peng is officially recognized as a seventh-generation member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team. In addition, actress Fan Xiaoshuang, who plays one of the film’s villain leaders, recently revealed that she joined the Jackie Chan Stunt Team two years ago as a tenth-generation member and works as part of Zhang Peng’s team.
As a result, many Chinese media outlets and netizens have questioned how the Jackie Chan Stunt Team could be described as having no involvement when several of its members reportedly worked on the film’s action department. So far, neither Marvel Studios nor the production team has issued further clarification regarding the differing accounts.
