Four years of solitude, evolving powers, and a villain nobody else can even perceive — the final trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day is here, and it makes a very loud case for why this is the most anticipated Marvel film in years. The first trailer for the film already became the most-watched movie trailer of all time, and if this closing salvo is anything to go by, the hype has been entirely earned.
A Spider-Man the world has forgotten
The film is set four years after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. If you need a reminder of where things were left: Doctor Strange's memory-erasing spell wiped the world's knowledge of Peter Parker's identity — every single person, including MJ and Ned, lost all recollection of him. Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesn't remember him — and the pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him — sparks a change in Peter he may not have the power to control.
He's an isolated adult now, with no life other than his crime-fighting as Spider-Man, while MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) go on with their lives without him. That emotional core — a young man utterly alone by his own sacrifice — is the beating heart of the trailer. Director Destin Daniel Cretton, making his Spider-Man debut after Jon Watts stepped away from the franchise, having cut his superhero teeth on 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, has spoken candidly about why the premise landed so personally.
"He's been stripped of his community. He's gone through some pretty intense tragedy in his life. And he's at a place where he feels like it's his duty to be alone and to work. I've been in that place multiple times in my life." — Director Destin Daniel Cretton, Rolling Stone
It isn't just Peter's emotional state that is shifting, either. His spider abilities are visibly evolving — organic webbing and transformed eyes among the new developments — as that transformation might also be the only thing that can stop a shocking new threat to the city and those he loves: a powerful villain no one can even see.
Scorpion, The Hand, and a very angry Hulk
The trailer confirms a cavalcade of threats. Michael Mando returns as Mac Gargan, better known as Scorpion, and the ancient ninja organisation The Hand are shown causing chaos across New York. Between the mutation and the presence of The Punisher, the film appears focused on Peter's physical limits and the emotional toll of his loneliness — and The Hand, an ancient ninja organisation heavily involved in global organised crime in the Marvel universe, are on screen too.
Then there's the moment likely to dominate online conversation for the next four days: Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, apparently turned hostile and pitched against Spider-Man himself in what appears to be a skyscraper-set brawl. It is very much not the jolly science-dad Bruce Banner audiences have grown used to — the strong implication being that the film's shadowy central villain is capable of manipulating even the most powerful Avengers. The identity of that villain remains under wraps, and Marvel and Sony are keeping it that way.
Jon Bernthal is back — and he's on Spider-Man's side
Perhaps the single most crowd-pleasing reveal in the trailer is Jon Bernthal reprising Frank Castle, aka The Punisher. Unlike virtually every prior iteration of their dynamic in Marvel comics and television, Castle appears here not as an antagonist but as an ally — a fellow street-level vigilante fighting alongside Peter.
It is a pairing that should not work on paper and looks absolutely electric in practice. Cretton has discussed balancing Spider-Man's quippy energy with the movie's darker storyline, and how Bernthal's Punisher fits into this PG-13 world — a creative tightrope that, judging by this trailer, he seems to have walked with considerable confidence.
Tom Holland, for his part, has been unambiguous about what Cretton brought to the production.
"When he came in, it was a scary time, and he saved us. Destin was able to come in and focus us all on one idea: what is life like for a young person who is completely alone?" — Tom Holland
Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers wrote the screenplay, with Michael Giacchino composing the score. The film is produced by Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Rachel O'Connor.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into UK cinemas on 31 July 2026. The final trailer is embedded above.
