Marvel fans are already counting down the days to this yea'rs two big cinematic releases. Although things are pretty crowded on the Marvel Cinematic Universe's TV schedule, we have just Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday on the movie front. But there is no "just" about those two releases, as they could well be the two biggest movies of the year.
For Spider-Man, audiences will be flocking to theaters to see Tom Holland's fourth solo outing as the webslinger - especially off the back of 2021's game-changer Spider-Man: No Way Home. It holds all the potential to be a billion dollar phenomenon - both because of that and the fact that people just love Spidey. With that in mind, it's no surprise that there has been a lot of talk about the movie's first trailer. And yet, it isn't the first time this topic has come up, as December brought an early Christmas present for unsuspecting fans as a trailer for the film leaked online.
A Spider-Man surprise during the Avengers: Doomsday marketing push
December was truly a wild time to be an MCU fan. Marvel Studios officially launched its marketing push for Avengers: Doomsday, releasing four trailers exclusively in theaters ahead of Avatar: Fire and Ash. It was a unique approach that prompted a lot of online discussion among fans, but given that Avatar 3 was always going to be one of the biggest movies of 2025, you can see why the studio chose to use it as a platform to promote the movie a year out from its own release.
Of course, leaks would soon surface as fans recorded the first footage of Steve Rogers' return to the MCU (along with an unexpectedly early leak of the second trailer too). But, as annoying as that probably was for Marvel, they knew it was inevitable. Nobody, however, could have predicted that the first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day would also leak out that very same week.
Unlike Avengers: Doomsday, Brand New Day's trailer was not attached to Avatar: Fire and Ash. It also wasn't officially released online by any studio either, making its arrival a bit of a Marvel mystery. Rumor has it that it came from a market research app that was used to track audience feedback. That might explain why the footage itself was such terrible quality, as the clip that made its way around the internet was a low-resolution recording of the trailer. That said, the audio was intact, meaning that it was the first real indicator of what the film was about.
Very quickly, the internet was abuzz with theories about who Sadie Sink could be playing in the film after the poor quality teaser alluded to a number of possibilities. She had a somewhat prominent role in that teaser, so it only motivated fans to ask more questions about the identity of her mystery character.
Sony very quickly pulled the footage, making it incredibly hard to find nowadays. But it did feature Tom Holland's Spidey narrating the clip, explaining how he is managing being a full-time webslinger after making sure that everyone forgot who Peter Parker really was. This has backed up fans' theories about us getting a more comic-accurate Spider-Man, who operates as more of a lone hero than a fully-fledged member of the Avengers (which we saw in the previous movies).
While the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer leak situation is all very confusing, fans found it even more confusing that Sony have yet to release an official trailer to combat the situation. Marvel did this by officially releasing the Avengers: Doomsday trailers online, each one coming a year after their theatrical debuts. There may have been a deal between the two studios - who technically share Tom Holland's Spider-Man through his existence in the MCU - that prevented them from overshadowing the Avengers: Doomsday trailers, but this was a rare exception where an impromptu trailer release could have come in handy.
Meanwhile, fans' frustrations have since grown as the trailer still hasn't been released two months later. While not entirely unusual for a summer movie to hold off on teasing its first look until closer to the time, Marvel's decision to skip the Super Bowl altogether this year - meaning that no MCU movies got showcased during the event - has fans worried that Brand New Day being treated as a bit of an afterthought to Avengers: Doomsday, which Marvel is pulling out all the stops to ensure it's a success story.
The good news is that the trailer release date likely isn't too far away. Director Destin Daniel Cretton has confirmed that it's on the way. Right now, it's just a matter of when. But, two whole months after a trailer for the movie leaked online, is indeed a choice.
Tom Holland reprises his role as Spider-Man. Jacob Batalon and Zendaya also return as Ned Leeds and MJ, respectively (although their roles are expected to be smaller this time around), while Marvel legends Mark Ruffalo and Jon Bernthal bring Hulk and The Punisher to Spidey's neck of the woods. Sadie Sink appears in a mystery role, which has undoubtedly been at the center of conversations about the upcoming film.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in movie theaters on July 31, 2026.