The first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home could arrive today – but how likely is it that we'll finally get a look at the Marvel movie this early in the week?
After months of speculation about when a trailer might drop, the first-ever footage for the forthcoming MCU Phase 4 film may be released today, and there's a major reason why fans think today (August 23) is the big day.
Over the past weekend (August 21 and 22), a leaked version of the movie's first trailer began circulating online. Numerous leakers posted the video – which is a supposedly early version due to its unfinished VFX elements – and it apparently confirms a lot of No Way Home rumors that have been floating around the web for months.
We won't be sharing the leaked trailer as, if you haven't kept up with the film's development or speculation surrounding it, it contains big spoilers for the movie's plot. There are plenty of places to view it if you're interested, but we won't post it here.
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While some Marvel fans have been hesitant to believe that a trailer is inbound – we've been duped before about its potential arrival – there appears to be some truth to the fact that the leaked trailer is legitimate.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures has moved quickly to remove the footage from leakers' social media accounts. In some instances, certain leakers' accounts have even been shut down (per Reddit) by Twitter, such is the maelstrom that's enveloped the internet over the past 24 hours.
Sony wouldn't go so hard after those who leaked the footage if it wasn't real, so we suspect that there are parts of it (if not the entire trailer) that will see the light of day very, very soon.
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That's not all either. Current Spider-Man actor Tom Holland also whipped fans into a frenzy on the morning of August 23 with an Instagram story post that implies a No Way Home trailer is on the way.
Posting the words "You Ain't Ready!" on a black background, Holland has heavily teased that something is inbound. Given the amount of hype about the leaked trailer over the weekend, it's too much of a coincidence for Holland's post to be related to something other than official No Way Home footage.
Add in Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige's comments last week that a trailer will definitely land ahead of release, and all signs are pointing towards some footage being unveiled in the near future.
Guys, I think it's actually happening #SpiderManNoWayHome pic.twitter.com/wT5VHpmuvwAugust 23, 2021
All of this fanfare comes on top of the fact that Sony has a multi-hour panel at CinemaCon this week, too. Per the convention's official website, Sony Pictures Entertainment will open the four-day event with a three-hour "exclusive presentation highlighting its upcoming releases."
You can expect the likes of Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Ghostbusters: Afterlife to be part of this panel, but there's one big movie that fans are desperate for more news on: Spider-Man: No Way Home.
And, with Sony and CinemaCon prohibiting all attendees from using cameras or phones (the latter have to be turned off completely) during the presentation, rumors of an official trailer finally dropping grow ever stronger.
The way WandaVision was so powerful it predicted the Spider-Man No Way Home trailer date pic.twitter.com/QddzS3n6YPAugust 22, 2021
So all signs point towards a trailer dropping today, right? Well, not exactly.
According to leaks last week (August 17), a Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer will be shown at CinemaCon. Those apparently in the know, though, claimed that the footage would not be made public.
In our opinion, with the trailer being leaked online, it's only a matter of time before an official version is released to the public – except we don't believe that it'll be today.
Sony knows that the trailer has leaked and that some fans have already watched the grainy, VFX-lite footage. However, the studio won't make any last-minute alterations to the trailer's supposed CinemaCon reveal. Sony will want to unveil the official footage to attendees first as intended, regardless of the leak, so don't expect that to change.
What has potentially been altered, though, is when Sony could release the trailer to the public. The CinemaCon panel is due to end at 9pm PT on August 23 (12am ET and 5am BST on Tuesday, August 24) so, providing a Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer is shown at CinemaCon, we're guessing that footage will land online on Tuesday, August 24.
That will allow CinemaCon guests to revel in the fact that they're the first (officially, at least) people to see footage from No Way Home before the trailer is released worldwide later this week.
Given that the trailer has already leaked, we don't think Sony will wait too long to drop it on the internet. The studio may have originally wanted to release it towards the end of the week but, with the leaked footage spreading like wildfire, we're expecting that it'll arrive online on August 24.
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As TechRadar's senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You'll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.
An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as this Moon Knight TV spot.
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