Tom Holland’s Spider-Man faces new enemies — and an existential crisis — in ‘Brand New Day’ trailer

Peter Parker is going through changes. In the trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which dropped today, Tom Holland’s web-slinging superhero is back to fighting crime in New York City. But he’s doing so without the help of his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) or girlfriend MJ (Zendaya, Holland’s real-life partner), who no longer remember his secret identity.

The reason for Peter’s isolation? A sad-but-necessary spell cast by Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, which erased everyone’s memory of Peter — leaving only his superhero identity intact.

The trailer for the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film shows Peter fighting crime as Spider-Man — which includes thwarting a plan by Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle, from Netflix’s Daredevil and The Punisher series — and looking longingly at videos of Ned and MJ, who are enjoying their freshman year at MIT.

But Peter’s social isolation isn’t the only issue: He’s also struggling with his powers. His webs are failing him — not good when you’re used to swinging from skyscraper to skyscraper. It isn’t long before he approaches college professor Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) — the alter ego of the Hulk — for some help. After all, how can Peter face down new enemies like Scorpion (Michael Mando, who is seen briefly in Spider-Man: Homecoming) with his powers weakening?

“If DNA is mutating, that would be enormously dangerous,” Banner warns.

Comic book fans might clock Spider-Man’s mutating DNA as part of a potential storyline involving his transformation into Man-Spider, a version of Spider-Man who also appeared in the ‘90s animated series. With famous mutants the X-Men joining the MCU and rumors that Sadie Sink is set to play Jean Grey in Brand New Day, anything is possible.

Whether Brand New Day introduces Man-Spider or not, Peter is evidently becoming a new version of himself. As we hear the narrator saying in the trailer, “Spiders have three life cycles. When between cycles, it can leave the spider vulnerable to threats. For those spiders who make it through, it amounts to a kind of rebirth.”

Cue Peter’s webs looking tougher than ever as the trailer pays homage to the very first comic book featuring Spider-Man — 1962’s Amazing Fantasy No. 15, right around the 2:08 mark.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day marks the first time Holland’s Peter has appeared in an MCU film since 2021’s No Way Home, in which Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprised their versions of the masked character from different universes. It also saw the death of Peter’s beloved Aunt May (Marisa Tomei).

Will better days be ahead for Peter, given all the tragedy he’s faced? Find out when Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31, 2026.