Is Marvel Hiding Characters From The Spider-Man: Brand New Day Trailer? An Investigation

The "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" trailer has brought new hype to the already highly anticipated blockbuster. Teasing a story that will push Tom Holland's Peter Parker to his limits, the film looks to be a character-focused outing for a version of Spidey whose personal development has often been overlooked in favor of advancing the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe. That said, while a synopsis for "Brand New Day" has confirmed a four-year time jump and hinted at what to expect, several unknowns remain. Now, we can add another mystery to the pile: some fans have noticed that Marvel seems to have digitally removed characters from the trailer, echoing what happened during the promotional cycle for 2021's "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

"No Way Home" featured the return of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's Spider-Men, and prior to its release, Marvel did all it could to keep their involvement a secret. At one point, Garfield was forced to lie through his teeth after footage leaked of him on-set. Things only got more suspicious after the "Spider-Man: No Way Home Trailer" hit, and fans realized it featured spoilers that technically weren't there. A fight scene shown in the trailer saw Spidey rogue Lizard recoil in mid-air as if reeling from a punch by an unknown assailant. Of course, that assailant eventually turned out to be Garfield's Web Head, confirming that Marvel had attempted to pull the webbing over our eyes.

Were we supposed to pick up on this very obvious edit as part of some genius marketing tactic? Or was it a genuine mistake that only contributed to the hype? It remains unclear, but whatever the case, Marvel might be up to the same tricks with the "Brand New Day" trailer.

The "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" trailer revealed that a legendary character actor has a secret role in the movie. It also teases a story in which Peter Parker gains new powers, in what appears to be a plot at least partly inspired by the early 2000s comic book arc "The Other." Now, fans have spotted something else in the teaser that looks oddly similar to the whole invisible Lizard punch debacle from the "Spider-Man: No Way Home" trailer.

As pointed out by an X (formerly Twitter) user, it looks like Marvel is once again hiding characters from the promotional material of "Brand New Day." During the trailer, we see what looks to be a new version of the villainous gang known as The Hand. This ancient order of ninjas is just one of many threats Spidey will face in the movie, and at one point, we see Tom Holland's hero jumping towards a horde of the warriors in a slow-motion scene set against the New York skyline. As the ninjas rise to meet him, some seem to be aiming not for Spidey but some unseen figure. Either that or these ninjas need an eye test.

Did Marvel digitally remove characters from this shot? It's not entirely clear, as the ninjas in question do at least seem to be ascending in the right direction, even if their eye-line doesn't quite match up. There's also no obvious contact between characters here as there was when Lizard took a punch from an unseen Spidey in the "No Way Home" trailer. That said, given what happened last time around, there's absolutely no reason why Marvel would shy away from digitally altering shots.

Adding to the sense that Marvel might once again be manipulating footage in the "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" trailer is that the scene in question looks very similar to the airborne skirmish edited into the "Spider-Man: No Way Home" trailer. It could be that fans simply noticed a similarity between these scenes and superimposed their own expectations of digital tampering onto it. But given Marvel's history, it would frankly be surprising if there wasn't any digital tomfoolery at play.

The "No Way Home" trailer misled fans in multiple ways, teasing scenes that never made it into the final cut and suggesting that Zendaya's Mary Jane perished in the film. This wasn't the only time Marvel Studios tampered with footage from their movies, either. Spider-Man was scrubbed from airport fight scenes in the "Captain America: Civil War" trailer, and shots of Thor were altered in "Thor: Ragnarok" trailers. Now, the Russo Brothers have confirmed they're misleading audiences with the "Avengers: Endgame" trailers.

All of which raises the question of what Marvel is hiding in the "Brand New Day" trailer. We know that Spidey is set to team up with Jon Bernthal's Punisher, but seeing as the teasers show him at various points, it would seem odd to scrub him from the shot in question. Perhaps it's Charlie Cox's Daredevil, who helped welcome Bernthal's vigilante to the MCU with "Daredevil: Born Again" season 1. Or maybe this is the moment Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner, who's also revealed in the "Brand New Day" trailer, finally hulks out and teams up with Tom Holland's Web Head. 

Then, there's this... Whatever the case, we'll likely only find out for sure when the film hits theaters on July 31, 2026.