The 1st Trailer for Marvel Studios’ and Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day dropped on Wednesday morning, teasing what is to come for the MCU 616-Universe’s primary wall-crawler / web-slinger this Summer! The teased story promises to bring MCU fans up to speed on what’s going on with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker / Spider-Man since the events of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, so let’s get right to it!
The Trailer opens with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker checking in on Zendaya’s MJ and Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds as they embark upon their MIT journeys. Peter isn’t exactly happy for his friends though; he is in fact sad, if not a bit angry over seeing their lives move forward without him. For those needing context, remember that the last time we saw these three together, Peter decided to allow Doctor Strange to cast a spell that would erase the world’s memory of Peter Parker in order to prevent a cataclysmic Multiversal crossover. Or, as Peter so eloquently puts it: “Something bad was going to happen and the only way to stop it was to make everyone forget about me.” Peter is obviously missing his friends and finding it difficult to juggle his responsibilities as Peter Parker with his responsibilities as Spider-Man; an age-old trope with this character! The trailer goes on to reveal that Peter is going to attempt to bring Ned and MJ back into his life with it implied that he is going to tell them that he is Spider-Man, but there is a lot more going on!
For one, Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle / The Punisher is in Peter’s life, and he is in this movie! This is a HUGE deal for comic book fans and maybe even for viewers of the Original version of Marvel Television’s now former Netflix series! Watching Peter crash through Frank’s vehicle and web his mouth shut before he can say a certain F-word is a wonderful teaser for the dichotomy these two characters are certain to wield on-screen. The chemistry is there!
Then, we see that Peter is going through changes; physical changes. A … Metamorphosis, if you will so I don’t use the word “mutation.” These changes seem to be a manifestation of the life cycles of a Spider (as the monologue insinuates). In other words, Peter is becoming … a spider.
When I first heard rumors insinuating this, I wasn’t sure what to think. Will audiences embrace Tom Holland turning into a monster? I still have reservations, but the addition of Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner helps ground the premise. After all, Banner is the MCU’s primary monster; an individual that took an experimental version of Super Soldier Serum, only to be transformed into The Hulk. Obviously, if Peter Parker is undergoing some sort of physiological transformation, Banner is the person he should reach out to. On top of the obvious spectacle that a Hulk vs Spider-Monster fight could present, there is also the prospect of a Savage Hulk being unleashed during this film that makes it quite intriguing! When The Amazing Spider-Man films were being made by Sony, one of the things I found my most intriguing about those movies were the monstrous elements! I’m an old school horror movie fan; a sucker for monstrous transformations and the like, and the way that The Lizard and The Green Goblin were presented in that Universe (and Venom and Morbius after by Sony) paved the way for a rather monstrous Cinematic Universe, and I have no problem with Kevin Feige borrowing from that and giving us a sprinkle of that in the MCU in Brand New Day. While my daughter probably doesn’t want to see her crush Tom Holland sprout eight legs, fur, and fangs, it could be a visually captivating way to take the character to unprecedented Cinematic places that I would appreciate if executed properly …
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
…. And it is true to the comics. Versions of Man-Spider; a monstrous form of Peter Parker, have appeared in both Marvel comic books and Spider-Man cartoons, and in J. Michael Straczynski’s mid-2000’s Spider-Man comic book run, Peter Parker went through the physical life cycles of a Spider, culminating in his rebirth in the storyline dubbed The Other. I am a personal fan of Straczynski’s work, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out on film!
In other words … get ready for that organic webbing!
Elsewhere, there is some Department of Damage Control stuff, we see The Scorpion (portrayed by Michael Mando in a reprisal from Spider-Man: No Way Home), we see Boomerang, and we see Tarantula … in addition to Ninjas from The Hand (as formally introduced in the Original version of Marvel Television’s Defenders Saga).
What we didn’t see? Who is leading The Hand? Where is The Hulk? And who is Sadie Sink portraying?
Obviously, there is still a lot that we don’t know, but what we do know is that the look and feel of this film is GREAT! Tom Holland looks to be all-in and in peak physical conditioning for this role and the emotion and the action and the drama all feel like they are going to come together to give us a very special Phase Six project. There are sequences here (Peter peering from underneath his mask, facing off against The Hand, and an homage to 1962’s Amazing Fantasy #15) that scream excellence and the follow-ups with MJ and Ned and Peter’s ongoing emotional struggle with balancing his responsibilities combined with his physiological changes and a host of new and complex unexpected threats set the stage for a very compelling film, even in the shadow of the highly-anticipated Avengers; Doomsday!
I can’t wait to dive into Spider-Man’s world this July, and don’t forget, Daredevil: Born Again will begin setting the stage for this film next week on Disney+!
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will arrive in theaters on July 31, 2026, with a cast that features Tom Holland (Peter Parker), Zendaya (MJ), Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds), Jon Bernthal (Frank Castle / The Punisher), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner / The Hulk), Michael Mando (Mac Gargan / The Scorpion), and Sadie Sink (Undisclosed Role).
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will mark Tom Holland’s 7th MCU appearance as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Spider-Man: Brand New Day will mark Mark Ruffalo’s 10th MCU appearance as Bruce Banner / The Hulk: The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022). Spider-Man: Brand New Day will mark Jon Bernthal’s 6th MCU appearance as Frank Castle / The Punisher: Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Season Two (2016), Marvel Television’s The Punisher: Season One (2017), Marvel Television’s The Punisher: Season Two (2019), Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again – Season One (2025), and Marvel Studios’ The Punisher: Special Presentation (2026).
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