I'm Convinced The Spider-Man: Brand New Day Trailer Is Misleading, But Not How Everyone Thinks

Published Apr 4, 2026, 8:30 AM EDT

That precedent has led many to believe Brand New Day is doing the same – digitally erasing characters or disguising key moments. To be fair, there is some compelling evidence that certain shots feel oddly framed or incomplete. But I don’t think missing characters are the real trick this time.

I'm Convinced Most Of Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Villains Only Appear In The Opening Scene

Instead, I think the Brand New Day trailer’s biggest deception lies in when its footage takes place. A huge portion of what we see may not represent the core story at all. In fact, I’m convinced many of the villain moments happen within the first 10 minutes of the film.

My theory is that Brand New Day opens with a montage-style recap of Peter Parker’s life since the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. This would mirror the storytelling approach used in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which began with an interview-style montage that quickly establishes its world and characters.

Notably, this included recreations of iconic Marvel covers and showed the team facing some obscure but iconic villains. For Spider-Man, this could mean a fast-paced sequence showing him taking on multiple street-level villains while adjusting to his new reality. That would explain the seemingly disconnected glimpses in the trailer.

The shots of characters like Boomerang or Tarantula in Brand New Day, along with imagery inspired by classic comic covers like Amazing Fantasy #15 cover, are clearly painstakingly created yet appear only as single shots. These moments don’t appear to be fully developed scenes; they are more like snapshots, almost as if they’re part of a highlight reel rather than the main narrative.

Framed this way, the trailer isn’t hiding villains, it’s exaggerating their importance. What appears to be a sprawling rogues’ gallery could actually be condensed into a brief opening montage, accompanied by Peter’s internal monologue about his new, anonymous life. If that’s true, then the real story of the film is still almost entirely under wraps.

How Much Of The Spider-Man: Brand New Day Trailer Could Be A Recap?

If this theory holds, then even more of the Brand New Day trailer could belong to that opening recap than people expect. It’s not just the action shots – some of the emotional beats might be part of it too. There’s a strong chance that scenes involving MJ and Ned are included in this montage as well.

This could serve as a bridge between Peter’s past and present. After all, No Way Home ended with Peter making the painful decision to step away from the people he loves. Revisiting those relationships briefly at the start of Spider-Man: Brand New Day would be an efficient way to reestablish the emotional stakes while firmly closing that chapter of his life.