A new rumor suggested Spider-Man 4 will break a long-standing franchise tradition with its unannounced villain. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, directed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, will swing into theaters next summer. While fans have gotten a taste of the new wall-crawling epic, there are still a couple of key questions still to be answered, like who the main villain will be.
Online scooper My Time To Shine Hello added a new wrinkle to the ongoing Spider-Man 4 villain conversation, revealing they've heard it will feature a female villain. In a post on X, the well-known industry insider wrote, "Spider-Man Brand New Day does have a female villain." If true, this would be the first-ever Spider-Man film to feature a female big bad.
To this point, several key villain characters have been announced for the 2026 film, including Michael Mando's Scorpion and Marvin "Krondon" Jones as Tombstone; however, all of them are men.
In Spider-Man's big-screen adventures so far, Peter Parker/Spider-Man has gone up against a purely male catalog of antagonists, so this could be one way Brand New Day sets itself apart from the rest of the web-slinger's cinematic canon.
This latest rumor aligns with previous reports suggesting that Spider-Man 4 was looking for a female villain. Back in March, it was reported that the movie was looking for a "female villain" between "30s-50s" and of "any ethnicity."
The character is described as "powerful and imposing" and was looking for someone with a "strong and commanding screen presence." Succession's Sarah Snook was reportedly the name in mind for the role, but her involvement in the film has not been officially confirmed.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to release in theaters on July 31, 2026. Production on the Tom Holland-led blockbuster is ongoing in the U.K. with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton at the helm. Holland leads the movie with the likes of Sadie Sink, Michael Mando, Mark Ruffalo, and Jon Bernthal rounding out its cast.
Who Could Be Spider-Man's Female Villain?
This is just the latest update in a long-running saga, suggesting that a female villain is somehow involved in Spider-Man 4.
Who this character could be remains a massive question mark for fans. A name like Black Cat (also known as Felicia Hardy) has been a popular one among fans, with some pondering whether someone like Sadie Sink could portray the character.
Another popular theory that sprang up over the last couple of months involves the female comic book shapeshifter Shathra. Shathra's name came up when it was reported that the female antagonist is a shapeshifter.
This led fans to think that Sink could bring the niche Spider-Man villain to life, adding a Multiversal element to the movie's fairly grounded story.
Of course, there are dozens of other well-known female villains in Spidey's rogues gallery that the movie could choose (with characters like Calypso, Shriek, and Screwball).
So, fans will have to wait and see just who this rumored female big bad could possibly be.
