In an early meeting to discuss the future of Spider-Man, the director Destin Daniel Cretton and Tom Rothman, the chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s film division, debated the meaning of the word “grounded.” It seems straightforward, but Cretton needed to know before accepting the job.

“If the intention was to go bigger, I definitely would not have done this movie,” Cretton said.

The most recent live-action Spider-Man movie at that time had sent Peter Parker through the multiverse, where he had met versions of himself from alternate realities. In two broader Avengers films, he battled a towering purple alien alongside a wizard, a witch and a god.

Cretton wanted something more intimate — a rawer, deeper cut of the web-shooting hero who is beloved by fans as much for his powers as for his rundown New York apartment and dysfunctional love life. These qualities stand apart from the spectacle and mystical forces of many comic-book films.

But Cretton said he would not oversee a blockbuster dependent on those grander components, even if it were part of a billion-dollar franchise.

The filmmakers and stars involved in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” are betting that their creative choice for the movie, opening Friday, will resonate. It still has action and awe, they said, including appearances from the monstrous green Hulk and a villain who controls other people’s minds and bodies.

But the film’s backbone, they said, returns Spider-Man, the alter ego of Peter Parker, to his roots: an isolated person who saves the day in spite of ordinary problems. With the superhero genre fixated as it is on nostalgic cameos and galactic conquests, Cretton thought the smaller scope would land, he said.

“Stories can always find new ways to connect with people,” Cretton said. “And I think, right now, this movie speaks to a lot of things that are happening emotionally to young people in the world and I hope they respond to that.”

Four years after the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Parker (Tom Holland) is grieving and lost. His aunt was killed by a villain he tried to help, and to save the universe from several threats, the world — including his girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), and his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon) — needed to magically forget he ever existed. Parker is thriving as Spider-Man but struggling in his personal life and monitoring old friends on social media.

Those circumstances, Cretton said, became ingredients for a film about loneliness and the search for connection in an internet-ruled world. But after Marvel approached him to direct, he spoke with Holland, Zendaya and studio executives before committing. They also shared his vision.

“With Destin, his first question is always, ‘The character, the character, the character,’” said Holland, who’s on his fourth Spidey outing. “When I found out that he wanted to not just make another ‘Spider-Man’ movie, but that he had this core message that was really important to him, I knew we were going to make a movie that was authentic, that would resonate with people, and ultimately, one that would be super relatable in a way that some of these movies aren’t.”

Most recent superhero movies have prioritized scale over more intimate storytelling since the genre’s commercial peak a decade ago. Elaborate visual effects and universe-threatening plots allow studios to market their theatrical releases as can’t-miss events, and those characters, like the Avengers, are often among the most globally recognized by fans.

But the box-office results have been uneven in the last three years. “Deadpool & Wolverine” was a hit; “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and “Superman” posted respectable returns; “Supergirl” and “The Marvels” flopped.

Gritty, urban crime-fighting stories like “The Batman” (2022) or a bloody, rustic western like “Logan” (2017) can still succeed theatrically when executed well. But other characters defined by similar themes, like Daredevil and the Penguin, are comparatively ancillary and less mainstream. Studios have increasingly placed them on streaming services, where the format allows showrunners to develop them more fully with lower production costs and less marketing pressure.

“Streaming can make a smaller but passionate audience more economically valuable, if not during a movie then over the course of a series” said Kevin Goetz, author of “How to Score in Hollywood” and founder of the entertainment research firm Screen Engine.

Cosmic-level projects can still be emotional, Goetz said, but they must devote time to establishing their universes and explaining intricate lore. More grounded stories, he said, naturally bring the conflict closer to the character — family, identity, community, consequences — making it easier for audiences to imagine themselves in the hero. But regardless of the scope, the project needs to showcase human elements to succeed, he said.

“It’s not just mythology-building at all costs — you have to have more than that,” Goetz said. “You have to care about your protagonist and antagonist.”

Though Cretton is known for character-driven filmmaking — he directed the 2019 legal drama “Just Mercy,” starring Michael B. Jordan — “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” isn’t Cretton’s first superhero assignment. He directed “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (2021) and was a co-creator on the recent Disney+ series “Wonder Man,” about a superhero whose powers could get in the way of his dream of acting.

Rothman, of Sony, said the themes Cretton wanted to explore with Spider-Man felt relatable to Peter Parker and the audience. Keeping it contained felt right, he said.

“It’s a lot harder if you’re out in outer space or other worlds to tether it to true emotional reality,” Rothman said, “but if you are going to do it, you have to be committed to it.”

Trauma and loss were themes of the Spider-Man films of the early 2000s starring Tobey Maguire and of the 2010s outings with Andrew Garfield. But they were not a cornerstone of Holland’s versions — “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017), “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (2019) and “No Way Home” — until the second half of the third movie. Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, said it was important to fully address those themes in the new film.

“Where Spidey thrives is not just in spectacle — it’s in spectacle and being very true to Peter’s story,” Feige said. “From the get-go, it was always going to be the focus. For the first time, he is alone, he is forgotten.”

Spider-Man remains one of the most reliable franchises in Hollywood — two of the Holland-led movies grossed $1 billion each — and would probably succeed at the box office regardless of the direction it takes. Spider-Man is a versatile character, adaptable to any tone that filmmakers choose, said Douglas Wolk, a pop culture critic who wrote a book about Marvel.

“Spider-Man is about just having to do the things that you are responsible for, or that you feel responsible for even if you are not,” Wolk said. “That is an engine that you can make any number of stories out of.”

The new movie uses fewer visual effects than its predecessors, the filmmakers said. But Cretton said he knew “Brand New Day” was working when he shot scenes with Holland and Zendaya. Their dynamic is heavy because Parker and the viewer are aware of their shared history, while MJ is not.

Those scenes “feel every bit as powerful as a giant action sequence,” Cretton said. “It gives you as much of a gut punch and adrenaline rushes as an explosive fight scene, but it really is just the two of them in a room having a conversation.”

To prepare for this Spider-Man, Holland said he scrolled Reddit threads and watched podcasts on YouTube to understand what fans craved. And the message, he said, was clear.

“I think there was a real desire for people to not see him save the world again, but maybe save himself,” Holland said.