Every Clue Daredevil Is Secretly In Spider-Man: Brand New Day

After a rocky past few years for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 2026 is looking to be a return to form. "Wonder Man" was a surprise hit that's already been renewed for Season 2, and then we have "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2, "The Punisher: One Last Kill," and "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" pretty much coming out back to back to back before getting into "Avengers: Doomsday." 

The combo of Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Punisher (Jon Bernthal), and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) all having releases around the same time and the fact that they're all based in New York definitely makes it seem like they're connected. After all, Punisher has already been established in Daredevil's world through the first season of "Born Again," and he appears in the first trailer for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." With the upcoming Spidey flick clearly drawing from more street-level characters in the MCU, could the Man Without Fear also make an appearance?

Fan theories are already running rampant that Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, is secretly in "Brand New Day." To be fair, you could make a theory that almost any Marvel character could appear in any Marvel project. However, there's a good amount of evidence to support this particular theory, so don't be too shocked if Daredevil does rub shoulders with Spidey later this summer.

Matt Murdock appearing in the next "Spider-Man" film isn't that far-fetched because it's already happened once before. In "Spider-Man: No Way Home," Matt winds up being Peter Parker's lawyer, tasked with clearing his name after Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) framed Peter for his death. He gets the charges dropped (due to him being a very good lawyer), and he even shows off his enhanced abilities by catching a brick hurled through a window. Murdock also appeared in a deleted "No Way Home" scene where he got some extra screen time with Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau).

With this in mind, the character returning in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" wouldn't be a big shock. Matt and Peter already have a relationship, though the ending of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" calls into question whether Peter could readily call him. The film ends with the world forgetting who Peter Parker is, so Matt wouldn't actually remember Peter. That being said, the world still remembers Spider-Man. Since Matt represented Peter after his secret identity was revealed, it's possible he remembers working on behalf of Spidey without knowing who's behind the mask.

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" revolved around a multiverse-level threat and the use of sorcery. It appears as though "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" wants to take things down a notch. With the inclusion of Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, it seems like "Brand New Day" will focus on lower-level issues plaguing New York City. And if Punisher's present, there's really no reason why Daredevil couldn't be there, too. In fact, having all three in the movie could present some unique philosophical questions.

Spider-Man believes in hope and responsibility, seeing the best in everyone and wanting to help whenever possible. Daredevil finds himself at a fascinating crossroads since Matt Murdock is a lawyer but Daredevil is a vigilante who must break the law to get things done, often beating bad guys brutally without actually killing them. Then you have Frank Castle, who's a maniac killing anyone he deems as deserving (although Punisher does have some rules he tends to follow).

It would make a lot of sense to use Daredevil to bridge the divide between Punisher and Spider-Man. The trailer for "Brand New Day" confirms that Frank Castle and Peter Parker are well-known to each other, and Frank even shoots Peter for getting in his way during a pursuit. As we've seen in "Daredevil: Born Again," Frank at least respects Matt Murdock, even if they have ideological differences. If things get more heated between Frank and Peter, Matt could be the one to cool things down.

The "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" trailer sees Peter face off against various villains, including Scorpion (Michael Mando), an MCU villain we honestly forgot was still alive. Boomerang and Tarantula also pop up in the trailer, and Tombstone (Marvin Jones III) has also been confirmed as part of the huge "Brand New Day" villains list. All of those characters are heavily affiliated with Spidey, but the end of the trailer shows Peter Parker facing off against ninjas from the Hand, and their inclusion should raise some eyebrows.

In Marvel Comics, the Hand is an ancient organization that uses dark magic to attain power across the globe. They've previously been featured in various Netflix Marvel series, including "Daredevil," "Iron First," and "The Defenders," so having the Hand in "Brand New Day" is probably the most vital piece of evidence that Daredevil could show up in the film. As fans of Marvel Comics know full well, they're a villain group that has a lot of history with Matt Murdock. 

The Hand was introduced in "Daredevil" #174 by Frank Miller, and the ninjas have tried to get Matt Murdock to join in the past. He rebukes them, of course, but they do tend to bring out his darker side. There seems to be a lot of crime going on in New York City when "Brand New Day" takes place, and Spidey could use all the help he can get. Punisher and Hulk (who also appears in the trailer) will make for useful allies, but if Peter's investigating the Hand, there's no better buddy than Daredevil.

Lots of fans found themselves looking twice at the trailer for "Spider-Man: No Way Home" because it seemed like some characters were missing. There's a scene where Tom Holland's Spider-Man is jumping toward Lizard (Rhys Ifans), Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church), and Electro (Jamie Foxx), but something didn't look right — it appeared as though Lizard and Electro weren't aiming toward Holland's Spider-Man. When the film actually came out, we realized the scene had been edited and that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men were also in that scene.

It seems as though Marvel is trying to fool us the same way again with a sequence in the "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" trailer. At the very end, Holland's Spider-Man leaps toward several members of the Hand. However, there's a lot of empty space underneath Spidey, and it looks as though some of the ninjas are attacking straight ahead as opposed to upward. There's a very good chance another hero is joining Spider-Man in this fight, and, as we stated previously, Daredevil is most often associated with the Hand.

Of course, it could also be Hulk or Punisher deleted from this scene, but it would make the most sense for Daredevil to be part of this fight. What's more, we know Punisher and Hulk are in the movie, so what would be the point in editing a scene just to hide characters we already know about? Keeping Daredevil a secret would be a great way to make audiences lose their minds when this fight scene plays out in theaters.

Brad Winderbaum, the Head of Streaming, Television and Animation at Marvel Studios, has made comments that are sure to be of interest to Marvel Cinematic Universe fans. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in the lead-up to "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2, he said, "We are communicating a lot with the team on 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' to make sure that there's coherence there. We don't want to spoil anything, but it very much exists in the same world and it is important."

A potential cynical interpretation of this statement is that Marvel just wants to make sure the two productions don't contradict each other. Both projects are set in New York City, and there could easily be a major shift in the status quo by the end of "Born Again" Season 2. New York's been through a lot recently, especially with a lot of New Yorkers getting briefly evaporated for the climax of "Thunderbolts*." But a more optimistic interpretation would involve making sure Daredevil can reasonably appear in "Brand New Day" regardless of what happens to him at the end of this season.

In addition to Punisher being in "Brand New Day," the trailer also shows Wilson Fisk's (Vincent D'Onofrio) campaign director Sheila Rivera (Zabryna Guevara) handing Spider-Man a key to the city. That's another connection that could have thrown a potential spanner into the works for "Born Again" Season 2. It seems like New York likes vigilantes again in spite of Fisk's Anti-Vigilante Task Force, so perhaps he'll step down from his mayoral position. And maybe Marvel's creative team will ensure Daredevil is in a place where he can lend Spidey a helping hand. 

To promote "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2, Charlie Cox appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" where he was asked point-blank if he was in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." He responded "No," before adding, "If I was in the movie, I would also say, 'No,' to be clear. But I'm not in the movie." If you're a fan of superhero films, you've done this dance before.

In the lead-up to "Spider-Man: No Way Home," Andrew Garfield was asked repeatedly by numerous outlets if he was in the movie. Every single time, he denied involvement. The trailers told us this would be a multiversal adventure featuring some of the villains from his "Amazing Spider-Man" movies, like Electro and Lizard, yet he insisted he wasn't a part of the film. Then on opening night, we all learned that his Spider-Man was, in fact, in the movie. 

It's really not fair to ask these actors about upcoming projects because we know they'll have to lie to us. There's a chance Daredevil genuinely isn't in "Brand New Day," but if he is, then everyone winds up calling Cox a liar, even though he's just towing the company line. For now, it's important to remember that an actor's word doesn't mean anything, and we'd much rather be surprised to see Daredevil in the movie than have it spoiled months in advance.

Charlie Cox is understandably going to deny any involvement in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" until the film comes out in theaters on July 31, 2026 and we know for sure whether he's been lying or not. That's part of the job for Marvel actors nowadays. However, Cox may have accidentally let something slip about his involvement in "Brand New Day" at New York Comic Con in 2025.

Brandon Davis interviewed Cox for the Marvel panel, and he mentioned how Cox also voices Daredevil in "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" Season 2, which debuted a trailer at the convention. Davis asked, "Is there like a 'No one else can play Daredevil' rule? Because that was you in the 'Spider-Man' trailer earlier." Cox seemed visibly flustered by this comment until Davis clarified he was talking about "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man."

Also at New York Comic Con, Davis asked Cox about what fans might already know about "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2, to which he responded, "I don't know what [fans] know. I know that they all think I'm in 'Spider-Man' because I'm filming something in London, which I'm not." It's a little suspicious that he brought up "Brand New Day" without directly being asked about it, so maybe he was trying to get ahead of any rumors? 

The fun part of a cinematic universe is that a Marvel character can appear in virtually any project, but the Tom Holland "Spider-Man" movies have really gone all in on connections. "Homecoming" features Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) a great deal, while "No Way Home" gives Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) a pivotal role. Those connections will only grow with "Brand New Day" as a host of characters are set to appear, including Hulk and Punisher (not to mention the persistent rumors that Sadie Sink will portray Jean Grey). At this rate, why hold back? Daredevil and Spider-Man are a great combo, so it only makes sense to throw him into the mix, too.

Marvel's kind of going all in on Daredevil at the moment. We know from the New York Comic Con trailer that Cox will voice the character in "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" Season 2, having already done so in Season 1. The character also makes a brief appearance in the Season 1 finale of "X-Men '97." And that's not even getting into his live-action appearances in "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" and "Echo." Daredevil has had so many team-ups with Spider-Man throughout the comics that it just makes sense to have the two work together in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." Here's hoping that Marvel feels the same way.