Why Sony partnered with last-place Mets to promote ‘Spider-Man,’ Juan Soto builds up movie credits

There hasn’t been much to celebrate about the 2026 New York Mets, with the team mired in last placeamid a hugely disappointing season. But at least their star player Juan Soto got to meet one of Queens’ most famous residents.

In a social media promo for this weekend’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” that debuted in mid-July, Soto was fanboying over the web crawler at Citi Field, who was was discussing doing his job behind a mask with another famous Met who spends his days with his face covered: the team’s eponymous mascot, Mr. Met. 

“Can I get a selfie?” the star Mets outfielder says upon seeing the two in the stands. 

A Sony source tells Page Six Hollywood that for “Brand New Day,” they wanted to partner with Major League Baseball in a larger way than for previous spidey flicks — past years have included special theme nights and bobble-head days.

Sony met with the league back in March with an idea of partnering with an athlete to promote the film. When the Mets came into the picture, the tie-in was too obvious to ignore, given that Peter Parker resides in the same NYC borough the Mets call home. (His apparent Mets fandom has also been referenced multiple times in the comics — and eagle-eyed viewers even spotted a Mike Piazza banner in Peter Parker’s bedroom in “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”)

We hear that Soto, a big web head himself, jumped at the opportunity. (After a fan in Seattle gifted Soto a light blue Spider-Man mask earlier this season, the team has been wearing it as part of their dugout home run celebrations.)

We’re told the commercial was filmed during an off day for the team and that Mr. Met was initially not part of it.

Filming took a couple of hours, a source tells us, with impending rain in the forecast. We’re told that Tom Holland was not inside the suit, that was a stunt man, but he did provide voiceover that was added in later. 

The “Spider-Man” tie-in continued on Friday with series’ co-star Jacob Batalon throwing out the first pitch at Citi Field as part of the team’s themed “Spider-Man” night, which included a special T-shirt giveaway.

“Spider-Man” was not the only Hollywood production to come knocking on the Mets’ door. Last weekend, Chris Pine and Emma Stone were spotted at Citi Field (including Pine in a Mets uniform) to film scenes for their upcoming baseball rom-com, “The Catch.”

That filming also included a cameo by Soto, who is quickly building up his own IMDB page.