Spider-Man: Brand New Day just revealed two incredible new posters featuring villains from Netflix's Daredevil. Brand New Day is tying itself to the MCU lore established on Netflix in shows like Daredevil in a bigger way than ever before. Not only is Jon Bernthal officially returning with a high-billing role as The Punisher, but the Hand, an ancient organization of immortality-seeking ninjas who appeared in Daredevil, Iron Fist, and The Defenders, will also appear in a mysterious role.
Empire Magazine unveiled two covers for its upcoming July issue that will put the spotlight on Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Excitingly, the standard and subscriber cover variants feature Spider-Man and the Hand front and center, with battling, red-wearing forces charging toward the lens in the first new poster.
The subscriber variant cover plays heavily on Brand New Day's spidery elements, with the wall-crawler preparing to face the ancient ninjas upon a literal web.
Empire's latest covers aren't the first Brand New Day promo art to highlight the Hand, as one of Spider-Man 4's earliest teaser posters celebrated their role.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day's first trailer unveiled a sneak peek at villains like Scorpion, Tarantula, and Boomerang, along with members of the Hand, who were seen attacking a rather defeated-looking, unmasked Peter Parker behind bars.
Interestingly, Spider-Man and the Punisher are expected to visit a prison as part of Brand New Day's "opening action sequence." As such, it stands to reason that the Hand may appear early in Spider-Man 4 and may be tied to the web-slinger's new mutation in the movie, although the extent of their role throughout is unclear.
Despite having his webshooters in Empire's new cover, Spider-Man's brand-new organic webbing powers show their face in his clash with the Hand, using them to tear a sword to shreds in badass fashion.
Finally, Brand New Day's first trailer climaxed with Spider-Man and the Hand jumping into battle, this time in front of the New York skyline. Some have speculated that the Hand's final trailer appearance is hiding a major cameo, but fans shouldn't hold out hope for Charlie Cox's Daredevil to appear.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to hit theaters on July 31, starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal, Michael Mando, Marvin Jones III, Jacob Batalon, Mark Ruffalo, and Tramell Tillman.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Is Daredevil's Biggest MCU Crossover Yet (But He Won't Appear)
The Hand joined the MCU with Netflix's Daredevil, meaning that much of their history so far is shared with Charlie Cox's Man Without Fear. That, combined with Matt Murdock's imprisonment after Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, has convinced some that he is entangled with Spider-Man's clash with the Hand behind bars.
Sadly, all the evidence so far signals that Daredevil won't appear, despite five years of hopes for him to team up with Peter Parker on the streets after his legal cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The legal eagle superhero may not be appearing, but the Netflix shows, including his, seem to be strongly represented.
Marvel Studios hasn't confirmed Spider-Man: Brand New Day's main villain, but the Hand's prominent placement across a teaser poster and two magazine covers suggests their role is integral. The only other characters to feature on posters are Brand New Day's top billers: Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Zendaya's M.J.
Previously, in The Defenders, Elektra was resurrected by the Hand and reborn as the Black Sky, who was intended to become their ultimate living weapon. Perhaps the ancient ninjas have similar aspirations to bring Spider-Man under their control and may even be behind his recent mutation into a more spidery form.
Whatever the case, the Hand's big-screen MCU debut marks a major step in further integrating the beloved Netflix shows with the wider franchise. That is only amplified given the Punisher's seemingly key part in Brand New Day and rumors that Rosario Dawson's Claire Temple is coming along for the ride.
