Do You Need to Watch the ‘Daredevil’ Shows to Watch ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’? How New York’s Heroes Are Connected.
The first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day is finally out into the world, and it’s taking the journey of Peter Parker / Spider-Man (Tom Holland) into uncharted territory. There are plenty of questions surrounding the footage — who Sadie Sink is playing, what’s next for Peter’s relationship with Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson (Zendaya), and how the heck everything will tee up Avengers: Doomsday. But given the connectivity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe the movie takes place in, one question is also coming up… how will Disney+’s Daredevil shows factor into Brand New Day?
Of course, the biggest connection between the two projects is Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle / The Punisher, whose return in Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again culminated with him being captured in Wilson Fisk’s secret vigilante prison. Fans have been curious to see how Frank escapes that predicament, whether offscreen in between projects, or in his solo Special Presentation that is set to arrive on Disney+. With the Brand New Day trailer showing Frank clearly out of prison and seemingly already having a relationship with Spider-Man, that throws an even further wrench into the timeline of things.
While the Punisher Special Presentation doesn’t have a confirmed release date yet, Bernthal did hint that it will debut at some point around Brand New Day — and that there will be a clear sense of connectivity between the two stories.
“Around that same time [as Spider-Man: Brand New Day], there will also be this Punisher special that’s coming out that I think will be as sort of high-octane kind of Punisher as you’ve ever seen,” Bernthal told Screen Rant late last year. “And I think what was really important to me and to Destin [Daniel Cretton] and to Tom [Holland] is that we believed that the Punisher that could walk off of the Spider-Man set could walk on to the special set. I do believe that we achieved that.”
But there’s also another detail briefly shown in the Brand New Day trailer that connects to Born Again… and possibly spoils the episodes that we haven’t even seen yet. Midway through the trailer, we see Spider-Man being given the key to the city… by Sheila Rivera (Zabryna Guevara), one of the political advisors of Mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). The idea that New York’s vigilante affairs are good enough for Spider-Man to get the key to the city, and that Fisk himself isn’t doing it, could spell some sort of political change by the time Born Again‘s second season is said and done.
Ultimately, none of these details appear to make Born Again required viewing for Brand New Day… but if you’re especially excited to see this world and want to spend as much time in it as possible, watching both seasons certainly can’t hurt.
What Is Spider-Man: Brand New Day About?
In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, four years have passed since the events of No Way Home, and Peter is now an adult living entirely alone, having voluntarily erased himself from the lives and memories of those he loves. Crime-fighting in a New York that no longer knows his name, he’s devoted himself entirely to protecting his city — a full-time Spider-Man — but as the demands on him intensify, the pressure sparks a surprising physical evolution that threatens his existence, even as a strange new pattern of crimes gives rise to one of the most powerful threats he has ever faced.
The cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day also includes Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Michael Mando as Mac Gargan / Scorpion, Marvin Jones III as Lonnie Lincoln / Tombstone, and Sadie Sink, Tramell Tillman, Liza Colón-Zayas, Eman Esfandi, and Keith David in currently-unknown roles.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released exclusively in theaters on July 31st.
(featured image: Sony Pictures)
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