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Ironically, this uncanny release pattern may be rather more helpful than many suspect. Trailers are designed to conceal as much as they reveal, with clips woven together to give a sense of narrative that’s often deceptive. Dropping the clips out of sequence means we didn’t initially get that sense of narrative flow, and the classic tricks haven’t worked as well. Here’s your full trailer breakdown, with all the major theories and reveals.
15. Spider-Man is Still Reeling After the Events of No Way Home
The Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer opens with a few brief shots reminding viewers of the new status quo. Spider-Man was forced to make the whole world forget about Peter Parker, and it looks as though he’s never managed to build a new personal life; instead, the trailer shows him watching over everything his friends Ned and MJ are doing, increasingly downbeat because he sees they’re so much happier without him. The traditional Spider-Man voice-over is a speech he’s rehearsing as he daydreams about telling them the truth.
14. Peter Parker Has His Own “What’s Up Danger” Moment
We now move to some stunning cinematography, with a shot reminiscent of iconic “What’s up danger” scene from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Where that was a moment of self-actualization and joy for Miles Morales, though, it feels very different here.
13. Peter Parker is Low-Key Stalking His Former Best Friends
Peter is shown sat at a table, rehearsing his lines, as Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds walks past. The clear implication is that Peter is still keeping very close to Ned and MJ, and there’s a slightly “stalker-ish” vibe to it. It’s unclear whether Peter has been like this for years, or whether something specific has brought him into his friends’ orbits again.
12. Spider-Man Gets the Key to the City
One of the oddest moments in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day shows him receiving a key to the city. This raises a lot of questions about the MCU timeline; it could be a flashback (perhaps part of a montage), or it could confirm that Wilson Fisk (the Kingpin) is no longer mayor. Ned and MJ watch on TV, likely unaware they were once part of Spider-Man’s life.
A later shot shows Peter holding the key to the city, deep in thought, and it feels as though the key serves as a reminder of a simpler time. Brand New Day is titled after a comic book arc where Spider-Man’s life began to finally work out, only for something to bring it crashing down; that may be what’s happened here, too. It would be tragically ironic if a life without Peter Parker began so well.
11. The Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Jon Bernthal’s Punisher makes his big-screen debut in Brand New Day, at the wheel of his Battle Van. It’s an exciting shot, because he and Spider-Man are clearly working both on the same mission (possibly against an organization called Damage Control, who police superhumans in the MCU). They’re not allies, though, because Punisher will cross (fatal) lines that Spider-Man will not. Notice that Spider-Man is already familiar with Punisher, calling him “Frank.” This shot offers a first hint something is badly wrong with Spider-Man’s powers, because he should really be able to sense the Battle Van coming through his spider-sense.
10. Spider-Man’s Most Controversial Character May Have Appeared
MJ has gotten on with her life, and is shown with a man who seems to be her boyfriend. This man’s identity is unconfirmed, but is most likely a boyfriend of MJ’s from the comics. Named Paul, he’s easily the most hated Spider-Man character in history. MJ’s room is packed with Spider-Man photos, incidentally, which perhaps hints that she knows she has a Spider-Man connection of some sort – and can’t figure it out.
9. Spider-Man is Mutating in Brand New Day
Peter Parker is shown undergoing a mysterious mutation, one that leaves him falling unconscious at one point… and awakening in a web cocoon in a second, with new organic webbing new confirmed. This is likely a blend between a classic “mutation” plot from the 1980s (riffed on in the iconic Spider-Man: The Animated Series) and a more recent arc that revealed Spider-Man is a mystical spider-totem with ties to the multiverse. The organic webbing in particular hails from that arc.
8. Spider-Man Meets Bruce Banner
Spider-Man is shown being subjected to extensive tests as someone (likely Bruce Banner) tries to help him figure out his mutation. The trailer is out of sequence now, showing Peter introducing himself to Bruce, who naturally has no recollection of him. It’s possible Bruce is now a lecturer at MIT, which would explain why Peter winds up back around Ned and MJ.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set further on in the timeline than we’ve ever gone before. This means it’s very odd to see Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner in human form, as he was last seen as Smart Hulk in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law; that said, Bruce has a device attached to his right wrist that presumably controls his powers. It’s possible Marvel will blend a classic Spdier-Man story with the Hulk’s, where a scientist friend of Peter Parker’s turns into a rampaging monster (usually Dr. Curt Conners and the Lizard).
7. Spider-Man’s Powers are Out of Control
According to Bruce Banner, Spider-Man’s DNA is mutating. This revelation is accompanied by shots of Peter Parker’s powers out of control; his senses so fine he is now deafened by a drop of water. Organic webbing, it seems, it the least of his problems.
6. Sadie Sink’s Character Makes Her Debut
The next montage showcases the powers of Sadie Sink’s mysterious character, who’s causing chaos – and being pursued by Damage Control. There have been reports Sink is playing Jean Grey, a founding member of the X-Men who’s both a telepath and a telekinetic, and these appear to be correct; she’s certainly able to possess the minds of others. Spider-Man is shown discussing this with what may be a police chief.
5. A First Look at the Scorpion
Michael Mando was last seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming, back in 2017. He’s now officially back as the Scorpion in Brand New Day, although the dialogue here is interesting; he appeals to Spider-Man to stay out of his way, rather than targeting him as most had expected. This may have been explained by Marvel’s Wonder Man TV show, which revealed Damage Control – who police superhumans – also force them to work for them as “assets.” Scorpion could be a Damage Control asset targeted at Jean Grey.
4. Spider-Man and MJ Reunited
This is followed by a shot of Spider-Man and MJ reunited at night. It’s unclear why this has happened, but it will clearly be a deeply emotional moment for Peter Parker. Curiously, this comes straight after a line in which the Punisher says, “You’re losing it, kid.” The clear implication is that Spider-Man’s personal world is coming to a crisis at the same time his body is mutating.
3. A Wonderful Homage to Spidey’s First Appearance
One beautiful shot in the trailer shows a tremendous recreation of Amazing Fantasy #15’s cover – the 1962 comic that introduced Spider-Man. It’s a smart way of reminding viewers that No Way Home rewrote every MCU Spider-Man film to date into an extended origin story, and now we have the real deal. Notice the overcast backdrop, leading many to theorize this is part of a montage showing what Spidey’s been up to, and that he’s rescuing civilians during the Void’s attack in Thunderbolts*. That may well explain why the film reportedly has a cameo from Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova.
This is accompanied by an ominous line about how spiders undergo three cycles of death and rebirth. This does raise an interesting question about how many “rebirths” Peter Parker has gone through. It’s possible Spider-Man’s death in Avengers: Infinity War actually counts, meaning he’s now on his third cycle. That would be an excellent way of carrying on the continuity.
2. Spider-Man Takes on Members of His Rogues’ Gallery
Spider-Man is briefly shown taking on some other members of his rogues’ gallery. The first is Boomerang, a low-level villain whose weapon of choice is self-explanatory. The next is a major redesign of the villain Tarantula, a low-level crime boss who’s shown in a scene that riffs on the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #134. The spikes on Tarantula’s boots are pretty much the only thing carried over.
1. Spider-Man Versus the Hand
This culminates in a fantastically artistic shot of the ninja clan known as the Hand, who clearly intend to execute an unmasked Spider-Man. This is a comic-book-accurate version of the Hand rather than the strange iteration seen in the old Marvel Netflix shows, and it’s interesting to note their appearance coincides with the word “rebirth.” In the comics, the Hand worship a demonic entity known as the Beast, an agent of death and rebirth. There may well be a thematic reason the Hand is targeting Spider-Man.
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