The first full trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day features numerous familiar faces, and provides a hint at the identity of Sadie Sink’s mysterious character.
Following a day full of teasing clips released by fans around the world, the full Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer is now available worldwide, released globally this morning as sunrise hit in Spidey’s home of New York City.
For our first real look at the highly-anticipated Spidey sequel, Sony has clearly opted to provide fans with some reassurance that, actually, this follow-up will still contain plenty of familiar elements from Tom Holland’s first trilogy. Zendaya’s MJ and Jacob Batalon’s Ned feature heavily, and there’s a shot of Aunt May’s gravestone, even though we’re reminded that the world has forgotten Peter Parker’s identity.
We also glimpses of several other Marvel returnees — such as Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner, seemingly now teaching at a university, Jon Bernthal’s Punisher, who still likes a big gun and a swear word, and Michael Mando’s Scorpion, back from Holland’s first Spidey film, Homecoming.
Marvel TV fans will also recognise the ninja clan of powerful secret organization The Hand, last seen being somewhat defeated in Netflix team-up series The Defenders, as well as someone who looks to be Sheila Rivera, the political assistant to Wilson Fisk seen in Daredevil: Born Again, handing Spider-Man a key to the city of New York. (Exactly when this scene is set, and its implications for the current storyline of Born Again, are both currently unclear.)
While director Destin Daniel Cretton has spoken previously of Brand New Day being a different kind of Spidey film and a “tonal shift” to those we’ve seen before, this first trailer plays down the newness somewhat — but that’s perhaps not too surprising. There’s still several months to go until Brand New Day actually arrives, and plenty of time for fans to chew over some of the trailer’s less familiar elements.
Notably, Holland’s Spider-Man appears to be going through some form of metamorphosis, complete with black eyes and a cocoon — perhaps a neat analogy for how the series is changing as it enters a second trilogy, and a new phase in Peter Parker’s life. Does this harbor new Spidey powers? New responsibilities? Time will tell. Either way, he seems concerned enough about it that he tracks down Banner, who suggests that Peter’s Spidey DNA is mutating.
Speaking of mutants, there’s a couple of glimpses at someone who appears to be Sadie Sink’s unnamed character, albeit only seen in a long coat and from the back. There’s the obvious suggestion here that she’s controlling people’s minds, something which has been designed to suggest she’s a dangerous villain — but also, for comic book fans, a very exciting possibility for who Sink may ultimately be revealed to be playing.
“We are faced with a danger that we can’t control, one we can’t even see,” remarks a character, seemingly about this mind control threat. But is Sink’s character really a foe, or a friend? Another shot, below, shows what may be the same character chained to a chair in a holding cell — though the camera cuts away, keeping their face hidden once again.
There has been plenty of speculation around who Sink may be playing, though perhaps our biggest clue is the report that her character will be returning for Avengers: Secret Wars, something that rules out her being a one-and-done villain. Our best guess? Now more than ever, we’d be surprised if Sink isn’t ultimately revealed to be the MCU’s Jean Grey, and our first confirmed X-Men team member ahead of Marvel’s upcoming “youth-orientated” X-Men reboot.
Notably, today’s trailer is different from the version that leaked online through grainy footage last December, featuring a line of dialogue from Sink that positioned her character as a villain — initially, at least. “You’re a mess, Spider-Man,” Sink’s could be heard to say. “Don’t get in my way. Otherwise, it won’t just be your friends who don’t remember who Peter Parker is.”
To wrap up then, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to feature several intriguing, interweaving plotlines. The future of Peter’s relationship with MJ and Ned remains key, as Spidey continues to protect New York. At the same time, his changing abilities are causing problems, while whatever is going on with Sadie Sink’s character (our guess is her powers being exploited to cause havoc) poses a new threat.
“After the record-breaking global success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man: Brand New Day marks an entirely new chapter for Peter Parker and Spider-Man,” reads an official synopsis for the movie released by Sony today.
“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.”
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will debut in theaters on July 31, and is expected to kickstart a new trilogy for Holland’s fan-favorite character. “I hope we do this many times over,” Holland recently wrote in a note to the movie’s crew, as filming wrapped up. So, what did you think of today’s trailer?
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
