On March 18, the first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, out July 3, 2026, debuted worldwide. The feature film will be the thirty-eighth entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) will direct it. Brand New Day directly precedes Avengers: Doomsday, which is set to release on December 18, 2026.
In less than 24 hours, the new trailer has racked up over 500 million views. The rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may be struggling to regain its luster, but Spider-Man is just as beloved as he's always been. Here's the plot summary Marvel released for Brand New Day, which gives us a tantalizing hint of what's to come:
"Four years have passed since the events of No Way Home, and Peter is now an adult living entirely alone, having voluntarily erased himself from the lives and memories of those he loves. Crime-fighting in a New York that no longer knows his name, he's devoted himself entirely to protecting his city — a full-time Spider-Man. But as the demands on him intensify, the pressure sparks a surprising physical evolution that threatens his existence, even as a strange new pattern of crimes gives rise to one of the most powerful threats he has ever faced."
We slowed down and screencapped the trailer to see what else we could find. Here are all the Easter eggs and details from the first Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer that you might have missed.
Time skip?
Because we know that there's a four-year time skip between the events of No Way Home and Brand New Day, this opening scene of MJ and Ned starting MIT is either a flashback (before the inevitable fast-forward), or it's Peter reminiscing about what he's already lost.
The coffee shop note
The letter Peter is seen reading in voiceover is a callback to the end of No Way Home. Originally, he was going to read this note to MJ to reveal his identity after Strange erased everyone's memory. However, he changed his mind when he noticed the bruise on MJ's face, and he realized she would never be safe unless he stayed away from her. The fact that he's kept this note for four years suggests he may regret this decision.
Where’s Kingpin?
In the TV clip, Spider-Man is seen receiving the key to the city. However, it's not Mayor Fisk (aka Kingpin) at the award ceremony, but Sheila Rivera, one of Fisk's political operatives. This might foreshadow the Kingpin storyline of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, which begins on March 24. Is Fisk in jail? Is he seriously injured? We'll have to tune in to find out.
Suspicious MJ
My personal theory is that MJ is going to figure out who Spider-Man is, again. She figured it out the first time, and she promised Peter at the end of No Way Home that she would find him if Peter didn't come back for her. This shot, along with another one at the very end of the trailer, might indicate her suspicions. More on that later.
A Punisher appearance
It's great to see Frank Castle in a proper MCU film. Based on the dialogue, it seems like he and Spidey are in a classic comic book conundrum; Spidey must catch the bad guy while also preventing Frank from killing the bad guy.
Dirty mouth!
This clip, in which Peter webs up Frank's mouth to prevent him from cursing, is a reference to the MPAA rating system, which allows only one non-sexual use of the F-word to secure a PG-13 rating.
Mutation
It seems that Peter's body is creating organic webbing on its own, similar to how Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker did in the original Raimi trilogy. This might also foreshadow Man-Spider, a mutated version of Spider-Man from the comics.
Mutant vs. Enhanced Human
In this data readout of Spider-Man's abilities, we see that he is classified as an "enhanced human." In the MCU, this term is used by the US government to refer to individuals like Captain America and the Winter Soldier, who possess abilities beyond the norm due to the Super Soldier serum.
It's somewhat concerning that the government is tracking enhanced humans and categorizing them by "threat level," although we did see the United States Department of Damage Control doing this in Ms. Marvel. It all seems to be building towards the "Mutant Question"—and the X-Men—in the years to come.
Bruce Banner cameo
Bruce Banner is involved in this storyline, and he looks a little different than the last time we saw him. He's no longer "Smart Hulk”; he's reverted to his human form. Like everyone else, he also doesn't recognize Peter when he meets him for the 'first' time.
Mutants
Aside from its incursion plotlines from other universes, the MCU has been relatively low-key about the existence of mutants; there's been just a handful of references. The MCU first mentioned the idea of mutation in Ms. Marvel, which also included a musical nod to the X-Men. Namor, who debuted in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is also a mutant. Expect to see more characters, like Banner, discussing mutation, in preparation for whatever comes after the Multiverse Saga.
RIP May Parker
In the trailer, we see Aunt May's gravestone. Interestingly, she's not buried under the same headstone as Uncle Ben, who we know exists in this universe; Peter Parker used his luggage in Far From Home.
Who is this?
The young woman strapped to the chair is likely a mutant or a superpowered individual. Online fans are speculating that the actress could be Sadie Sink, who's been cast in an unidentified role.
Jean Grey?
Due in part to Sadie Sink's red hair, fans are speculating that Sink may be portraying Jean Grey, one of Professor Xavier's first students and one of the best-known X-Men. Based on the trailer, she appears to have telekinetic powers, which would reinforce that suspicion.
Scorpion
Scorpion, who first appeared in the end credits of Homecoming back in 2017, finally makes his full villain debut. He still portrayed by Michael Mando.
Comic book homage #1
At the end of the trailer, there are three successive comic book cover homages. The first is a tribute to the first Spider-Man comic from Amazing Fantasy #15, with cover art by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko.
Comic book homage #2
The second homage is the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #345. The villain in the background is Boomerang. The cover artist for that issue is Erik Larsen.
Comic book homage #3
The third homage is the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #134. The villain is Tarantula. The cover artists are John Romita and Danny Crespi.
The Hand
The ninjas are members of the shadowy assassin organization known as The Hand, which also appeared in the original Netflix Daredevil series.
Marvel is notorious for editing plot points out of trailer footage. If you look at this shot from the trailer, it appears that Spider-Man is not the only one involved in this offensive; there’s a lot of empty space at the bottom of the screen.
She knows!
MJ's reference to the "friendly neighbor" at the end of the trailer is a bit too on-the-nose. I think she already knows Peter's secret identity, and she's messing with him a bit. However, while she might know his secret identity, she may not realize they were once in love. We'll have to wait and see.
