Growing up, you could tell which summer tentpole movie release would become that summer’s blockbuster based on the level of corporate collaboration on the film. Often, the collaborations end up being a splashy logo or the next model of your favorite luxury car pulling up to a building in the film, and while we understand how things work these days, it’s always cooler when the collaboration plays off of the source material, like what Spider-Man: Brand New Day star Jacob Batalon has been able to do with the Spidey Tracker campaign and Samsung Galaxy.
The latest spot, which Complex is premiering exclusively, builds on what Ned Leeds (Batalon) has been doing since the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. In that film, Peter Parker has to make a sacrifice, leading the world to forget that Parker really is Spider-Man, including his best friend, Ned, Spider-Man’s “guy in the chair” since 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming.
“It's really cool to be a part of the Samsung Galaxy team,” Batalon shares with Complex, adding that Samsung reached out with the Spidey Tracker treatment, bringing an aspect from the new film to life. “A lot of Ned's arc in the movie is just basically him trying to figure out who Spider-Man is,” Batalon explains. “He feels like there's a deeper connection there than just him being saved by him a lot.”
In the new spot, Ned’s in New York City, using the Spidey Tracker (which is also connected to his watch) to try to find Spider-Man. (If Ned would only look up!) And what was Spider-Man doing? Making his way back to his lab, so he could figure out a fix for all of the broken smartphones he has to replace, giving you a number of dope shots from Brand New Day featuring Spider-Man kicking all kinds of ass (and wrecking his phone in the process). Being the big brain that he is, he happened upon the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold technology that lets users fold their smartphones, creating more space on the go.
Batalon expressed his appreciation for the obvious symbiosis of having the tech-savvy Ned utilized for this Samsung campaign. “I honestly think that it was just kind of born out of Ned's necessity of using technology that they thought it made sense, because he genuinely creates a tracker to track Spider-Man. So we were able to create an actual app and have it like a functioning thing that you can use on your watch, on your Galaxy watch, on your Galaxy foldable phones.” [Spider-Man has a brand new foldable?? Reserve yours now and tune into Galaxy Unpacked on July 22, 2026, at 9 AM ET for the big reveal.]
“The most successful partnerships create stories fans genuinely want to experience,” Samsung CMO Keena Grigsby said about the partnership, “with technology integrated in ways that feel natural to the characters and stories they love. This collaboration gave us the opportunity to create an exclusive brand film for fans that brings Galaxy foldables naturally into Spider-Man's world through an original story—showcasing our innovation in a way that feels authentic to the franchise while complementing the excitement of the upcoming film.”
“It's just a cool process to be a part of,” Batalon continued. “I wasn't even thinking twice about it. I was just like, ‘yes, absolutely. I need a new phone.’”
That new phone must be getting put to good use during the busy lead-up to Brand New Day, but let Batalon tell it, he may be sorting out his next project using a Galaxy Z Fold. “I think for me personally, I'm just writing a lot of stuff,” is his response when asked what he’s currently working on. “It feels not just more personal, but it feels more creatively fulfilling. And I think that having the ability to have the autonomy to be who I want and do what I want gives me a lot of freedom and happiness.” And while he admits he should be chilling on his spending, Batalon’s also been building some expensive collections. “I think it's really just watches lately,” Batalon admits, mentioning a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso that he’d purchased a while back. He’s also a fan of Pokémon, and has been getting into the trading card world a bit, although he notes that “it's becoming like the shoe game” in terms of the bots and inflated prices. “It's still a great hobby,” Batalon admits, joking that Samsung and Pokémon should collaborate. “The brand of Pokémon…I grew up with it, still love it.”
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is already set to be a force when it swings into theaters on July 31. What the future holds for Batalon after this film’s release is anyone’s guess, but it sounds like he’s going to be figuring it out with a Samsung Galaxy in his hand. “It's going to be great to see me—I mean Ned using it in the movies,” Batalon says. “I just think for me as a person, it's useful to just have the best phones and the best symmetry between my life, and that is just so similar [to Ned]. He's smart, and he knows what to use, and I finally am catching on.”
For more, keep it locked to Galaxy Unpacked, which goes down on July 22, 2026.
