Fans now have an exciting idea about who the villain may be in Tom Holland's Spider-Man 4.
Holland's fourth Spider-Man movie has plenty of potential thrilling plot points to pick up on after his efforts in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home. From a post-credits symbiote invasion to the world being unaware of Peter Parker's existence, the story is sure to be filled with one wild twist after another.
While fans know about rumors hinting the multiverse will be involved in Spider-Man 4, an even bigger mystery is who will take on the role of primary antagonist. This comes after the first three films featured the Vulture, Mysterio, and nearly half a dozen Multiversal variants trying to take Holland's hero down.
New Update on Villain for Tom Holland's Spider-Man 4
Industry insider Jeff Sneider shared a rumor teasing that Spider-Man 4 may include Sacha Baron Cohen's Mephisto as one of its main villains.
Sneider is not 100% confident about the rumor, as one of his sources cast doubt on its accuracy. That source noted that Cohen has a secret Universal movie coming out next year, which he will have to promote.
Currently, Cohen is set to debut in the MCU as Mephisto in 2025's Ironheart. With this in mind, Sneider shared he thinks that Marvel would not be one to cast Cohen as a character as big as Mephisto and only have him in a "second-tier Disney+ series."
He has a feeling Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has big plans for Mephisto, which could lead to him being Spider-Man 4's main villain.
Additionally, sources have told Sneider that symbiotes will be a player in the new movie, information that the insider seems more confident about. The story will also reportedly see new classmates introduced alongside Peter.
How Will Mephisto Factor Into Spider-Man 4?
Having Mephisto involved in Spider-Man 4 is certainly a game-changer, as fans have not seen Spidey fight anyone quite like a version of the devil in his cinematic history.
On top of Sasha Baron Cohen's villain seemingly coming over to the movies after his debut in Ironheart, these rumors tease plenty of thrilling threads in Spider-Man 4.
Peter having a new set of classmates could easily be connected to previous rumors teasing Gwen Stacy's debut in Spider-Man 4. While she could be the main focus there, Peter could also be introduced to characters like Harry Osborn should Sony want to go down that path.
Also of note is the tease that symbiotes will be involved in the sequel after No Way Home's post-credits scene featured Eddie Brock leaving a bit of the Venom symbiote behind. The one mystery behind that will be if that scene will still be canon after Venom 3 seemed to retcon that moment, confusing fans of both films.
With Mephisto, symbiotes, and new college classmates all potentially on the table, Spider-Man 4 could easily be the most jam-packed MCU Spidey film yet, which is saying something after No Way Home.
Many are also expecting returns for Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in Spider-Man 4 due to the sequel being released directly between the next two Avengers movies. All in all, no matter how many of these rumors prove to be true, all signs point to this sequel being yet another massive-scale sequel for the MCU.
Spider-Man 4 is set to debut in theaters on July 24, 2026.
