Remember the good old days when everyone was sure that Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's Peter Parkers would appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but no one could really prove it? Back then, Marvel altered the movie's trailers to hide the return of these legends by digitally removing them from some scenes. This was done with the hope of preserving the surprise until release day, but the result achieved was the exact opposite.
Fans noticed the composition of some shots was strange... almost as if some characters were removed from the scene altogether. That only fueled more speculation that Andrew and Tobey's characters were definitely coming back. Well, wouldn't you know it, we're living through something similar all over again, and it's all thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's next movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
While our first look at the wall-crawler's upcoming adventure gave us lots to talk about, there's one specific sequence that the internet has been dissecting in order to find the truth. Is Marvel trying to hide the appearance of a big MCU character? Let's find out.
Fans are convinced a scene in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer was altered to hide the return of an MCU character
The Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer all but confirmed that the criminal organization known as The Hand is coming back in a big fashion. After being the antagonists in multiple Marvel Netflix shows, such as Daredevil Season 2 and The Defenders, the Hand disappeared from the public eye. However, that doesn't mean they weren't working from the shadows.
The Hand's return seemed imminent, especially since multiple reports indicated that they would have a role in Brand New Day. Next thing you know, the official trailer showcases Spidey fighting ninjas... so yes, it seems fair to say that they are back. However, there's one shot in particular featuring the Hand that seems... off.
Let's take a look at the following image: Spidey is at the top left corner, jumping at multiple ninjas who are coming from the bottom right corner of the image. However, there's one problem: some of the members of the Hand aren't even looking at the wall-crawler, let alone jumping in his direction. Take a look at the ninja in the bottom right: he's looking directly forward instead of upwards. Besides, he'll miss Peter based on the direction of his jump. With that in mind, could it be that the scene was digitally altered just for the trailer? Well, there's even more concrete evidence to suggest that is the case
Back in December, a Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer was leaked, and it featured the exact same scene with members of the Hand getting ready to attack, but it takes place inside a room. That confirms that this specific shot was edited to, at the very least, take place outside. So what could've prevented Marvel from also removing other MCU characters from the scene along the way?
The more exciting theory is that there's someone else below Spidey, helping him fight The Hand. Frank Castle would seem like the most obvious choice, but why go through the trouble of hiding him if the trailer already revealed his appearance in the movie? With that in mind, another likely option is for the Hulk to be aiding the wall-crawler... though it wouldn't be fair for the Green Goliath to be fighting ninjas. So, another possibility is for Daredevil to be in the scene.
The Hand is rumored to appear in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 before wreaking havoc in Brand New Day, establishing a clear connection between the Devil of Hell's Kitchen and the wall-crawler. Furthermore, with Frank Castle's appearance in Peter Parker's upcoming adventure (and Claire Temple's rumored cameo), it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume that Matt Murdock could join the party as well. But, while this sounds like a very exciting possibility, it's also unlikely that it will come to be. So, what's the truth behind the altered trailer shot?
The most likely possibility is that we're looking at two different scenes merged into one. The first one could feature The Hand getting ready to attack inside a building, as was the case in the leaked trailer. The second scene might showcase Spidey outdoors, jumping towards the Savage Hulk. After all, Bruce Banner's most dangerous persona is reported to appear in the movie, but we haven't seen him in action just yet. So, to cover up the surprise, Marvel decided to digitally remove the Savage Hulk from the outdoors scene and replace him with members of The Hand, who were taken from a completely different sequence.
Only time will tell what this fight scene truly hides, but it seems that there's more than meets the eye in the wall-crawler's upcoming adventure. Fortunately, it won't be long before we figure out what those secrets might be.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released on Jul. 31, 2026.