MarvelBlog News for March 22nd, 2026

The Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer has arrived…and it’s shockingly great.

So, we’ve got a rare batch of good Sony news to discuss in MarvelBlog News.

About Brand New Day

Before we get started, here’s the trailer in case you haven’t watched it yet:

What did you think? If you’re anything like the rest of the internet, you loved it.

In case you didn’t know, Spider-Man: Brand New Day was shaping up to be a disaster project.

That’s the Hollywood term for a movie that’s doomed from the start.

With Brand New Day, Sony didn’t have a script and cycled through potential directors.

Eventually, the studio settled on Destin Daniel Cretton, who has previously worked miracles.

The director helmed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a great MCU title.

That project was probably Marvel’s biggest hit during the pandemic, especially relative to expectations.

At one point, Cretton was in contention for the next Avengers movies, and that’s not all.

He produced and directed two episodes of Wonder Man, which earned glowing critical praise.

Thus, nobody could question his skills as a director, especially with Marvel productions.

No, the problem stems more from Sony’s odd track record with its Marvel movies.

The non-Spider-Man films are all terrible, save for the first two Venom films.

And I’d argue that the first half of Venom is pretty lousy. We almost turned it off at one point.

That film’s fortunes turn once the Eddie/Venom dynamic unfolds. Until then, it’s grim.

I’m saying that while describing the Venom franchise as one of Sony’s Marvel successes!

As for Kraven the Hunter, Morbius, and Madame Web, well, you know the deal.

They’re a special kind of awful, and Sony hasn’t been that reliable with Spider-Man either.

A Spider-Man Alone

The first two Tobey Maguire movies were great, but the third one…wasn’t.

Then, the Andrew Garfield films bombed so much that we only got two of them.

So, when Sony rushes production for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4, we all worry.

Sony didn’t make this movie because the writing team had a great idea for a script.

This was a panic project based on the fact that Sony needed another Marvel hit.

Well, what Sony really needed was $1 billion in box office, which any Spider-Man movie should make.

I’ve kept that in mind while evaluating the project until now…but my opinion has changed.

That’s objectively a phenomenal trailer that provides fans with precisely what we want.

For starters, Zendaya is there, reassuring us that MJ remains in the picture.

Jacob Batalon returns as Ned, Peter Parker’s theoretical best friend.

It’s all theoretical because MJ and Ned have forgotten who Peter Parker is.

That’s terrific news for Spider-Man as a secret identity, but it’s terrible for the teenager.

He’s absolutely alone in the world, save for…The Punisher? Yup, that’s the focus here.

This trailer leans heavily into the fact that Frank Castle is interacting with Spider-Man.

Presumably, The Punisher has no idea that he’s ostensibly on the same side as Parker.

I mean, I think they are. The Punisher’s stubbornly an anti-hero in all Marvel stories.

Anyway, the two of them seem to be fighting, or least Castle is trying to attack Spider-Man.

Parker’s attitude is very much, “Frank, quit it!” rather than anything antagonistic.

Still, that’s forward progress in that someone is engaging with him. He’s otherwise alone.

Well, he is until that fabulous final scene that sneaks in a “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” joke.

Evaluating the Trailer

Look, I think I’ve made it abundantly clear that I had low expectations for this clip.

To my delight and surprise, this commercial shows a tremendous amount of promise.

The ad clearly lays out all three acts of the movie by describing a spider’s metamorphosis.

So, we know that at some point, Peter Parker loses his powers, and it nearly kills him.

Presumably, at a later time, he’ll not only restore his powers but also level up.

At least, that’s what the dialogue heavily implies, suggesting a Super Saiyan Spider-Man.

We have all the pieces here of a good plot rather than a hodgepodge of random ideas.

Now, a good trailer doesn’t mean anything. Way back when, Spider-Man 3 proved this point.

Still, social media sounds positively giddy about this teaser, which is all Sony needed.

Marvel Miscellany

Of course, the one downside is that this clip pretty clearly spoils something.

Sony won’t care since it’s part of the MCU, but there’s a tell in here about Daredevil: Born Again.

Season two clearly ends with a big change, as evidenced by one easily noticed part of the trailer.

I won’t give it away in case you didn’t notice, but you can easily find out what I mean.

Tangentially, the other big story this week also involves season two of Daredevil.

The review embargo ended the other day, and I’ve got great news! The reviews are exemplary!

Apparently, even the few critics underwhelmed by season one are in love with the second season.

That’s completely understandable. In case you’ve forgotten, season one’s production was a mess.

Marvel literally threw out all the scripts and started anew, while keeping some filmed scenes.

That’s why one dirty cop appears to get his neck broken in one episode.

Then, he’s back at work the next day in the following episode. I can see why some critics would be bothered by that.

Thankfully, season two is much more logically consistent while still very clever.

As usual, I’ll recap the episodes once the season begins on Tuesday.

 

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