There are three stages of fandom anticipation when an upcoming Marvel movie has yet to show off any footage. First comes, “Begging for the trailer.” Eventually, we get to “Revealing of the trailer.” And then that devolves into “Endlessly critiquing the trailer online.” It’s a vicious cycle. Chloe Zhao’s Eternals recently went through it. Now Tom Holland’s driving that bus as Spider-Man fans worldwide wait impatiently for the debut trailer for December’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Social media has been rife with random guesses about when the trailer might drop (Holland’s birthday! The second Monday of the month!) and yet, no trailer as of yet.
But Tom Holland gave his fans hope when he appeared in an Instagram Story and closed off the short video clip when he promised them:
I’ll see you soon. Hopefully I’ll have some cool stuff to show you. Some Spider-Man stuff, some Uncharted stuff.
He’s vague, but it’s the use of the word “soon” that leads us to believe that Tom Holland knows when Sony will be able to drop that first trailer, and he’s comfortable bringing it up in public because he’s aware that fans won’t get into an uproar for him leading them on. But what could constitute “soon” in the eyes of a fan? Several people following this story online have speculated that the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer could arrive ahead of the next Sony Pictures Entertainment movie to be in theaters, which would be Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway. That family film is opening in theaters on June 18. But would Sony attach the anticipated trailer for a massive superhero blockbuster in front of a kiddie flick that might not open so big?
It really doesn’t matter whether or not Peter Rabbit 2 packs in the crowds. The minute the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home drops, it will be EVERYWHERE. But still, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway doesn’t strike me as the best play. Even though it’s a Disney movie, Black Widow also is the next Marvel Studios movie reaching theaters (on July 9), and I’d bet that dropping the Spider-Man trailer in front of that blockbuster guarantees maximum exposure. Disney also convinces more people to see Black Widow in a theater -- as it also will be available on Disney+ Premier Access. That’s a “win, win” scenario for both major studios.
What do you think we will see in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer? I can almost guarantee that we’ll mostly see things that already have been confirmed, and not necessarily big-swing reveals like the villains who have been rumored (Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin) or the appearance of the two other Spider-Men. I bet that characters who always have been part of the MCU Spider-Man universe will feature prominently in the trailer, with potentially a very quick hint at the existence of the multiverse near the very end of the clip. Maybe Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange will appear, since his involvement has been confirmed.
Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: No Way Home will open in theaters on December 17. We can’t wait until we have moved off of the “Waiting for the trailer” stage and into the “Critiquing the trailer” phase. Keep scanning our Upcoming Marvel Movies guide if you want to stay up to date with all the Marvel movies arriving in theaters for the next three years.
