There has been a constant barrage of rumors and reports from the newly-titled Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but the latest news points to the sequel having a brand-new villain.
The number of rumors surrounding Spider-Man: Brand New Day is truly insane. Whether they're about the story being more grounded and multiversal or as ridiculous as Peter Parker slugging it out with The Hulk, there seems to be no end to them.
The same goes for who the villain will be, which has changed constantly from being a team-up with Daredevil against Fisk to Tom Holland's Peter Parker fighting alongside Tom Hardy's Venom to stop Knull. However, some recent casting news might have eliminated these baddies from taking the seat as the main villain.
5 Spider-Man Villains Ruled Out as the Main Baddie
According to a new rumor from Daniel's Patreon, Sony and Marvel Studios have supposedly "made an offer to a big actor for the main villain role" in Spider-Man: Brand New Day:
"I hear Marvel Studios / Sony already made an offer to a big actor for the main villain role in Spider-Man 4."
As they're casting someone for the "main villain role," it rules out several previously established villains from being the primary antagonist in this Spider-Man sequel.
However, while these villains won't be the main baddies, that doesn't necessarily preclude them from appearing in Tom Holland's next outing—at least for some of them.
Andy Serkis' Knull
Sony Pictures' most recent and desperate gambit was hastily introducing Knull, the King in Black, as the big bad of its cinematic universe in Venom: The Last Dance. Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis, most famous for his role as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, played the God of Symbiotes.
Unless Sony plans to drop Andy Serkis as Knull, this casting report definitely eliminates him as the primary antagonist. It's also doubtful that Sony would let Knull play second fiddle to anyone else, making Knull appearing at all in Spider-Man: Brand New Day unlikely.
Since Knull won't be terrorizing Spider-Man or Eddie in Spider-Man 4, it's unlikely the sequel will focus heavily on the Multiverse unless some other multiversal villain takes Knull's place.
Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin
Whenever fans hear "street-level" villains, the character that almost instantly comes to mind is Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin, and returns in Daredevil: Born Again, played by Vincent D'Onofrio. Rumors pointed to his mayoral campaign in the revival series impacting multiple projects, including Spider-Man 4.
Regardless, the actor recently confirmed that his Fisk and Charlie Cox's Daredevil wouldn't appear in the Spider-Man sequel. But just because D'Onofrio won't be the big bad doesn't mean his influence over New York won't be felt in the Spider-Man sequel.
After all, his vendetta-driven laws against vigilantes would affect the teenage hero, who has abandoned living a normal life as Peter Parker into being Spider-Man full-time.
Michael Mando's Scorpion
It has been almost eight years since Michael Mando's Mac Gargan, aka Scorpion, was last seen in the MCU after the post-credits scene in Spider-Man: Homecoming—an axe to grind with the Web Crawler but nowhere to put it for nearly a decade.
Fans have been frustrated with his absence almost as much as Mando himself. It's especially frustrating to see how effective a fully equipped Scorpian could be in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man after he gave Peter the beating of a lifetime.
However, this doesn't count out Gargan from appearing in a smaller role as a henchman to the main baddie or even just a minor villain Spider-Man takes out to showcase his growth as a hero and dedication to his life as a vigilante.
Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio
Wait, isn't Mysterio dead? Shouldn't that have disqualified him as the main baddie of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, regardless of this new casting? While it's true Jake Gyllenhaal's Quentin Beck ate a bullet in Spider-Man: Far From Home, he is the Master of Illusions, plus his whole team did get away with hundreds of EDITH drones.
He could have easily faked his death to return another day to torment Spider-Man, his team could have used Beck's likeness to "resurrect" Mysterio, or another version of him from the Multiverse could have arrived, as seen in concept art for Far From Home.
Oh, but wouldn't Mysterio being the main villain also be a case of double-dipping? He was nearly the villain who killed Aunt May and possibly No Way Home's main baddie before Marvel Studios courted Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin. So, it doesn't seem like Marvel Studios opposes reusing Spider-Man's rogues gallery.
Michael Keaton's Vulture
Unless Marvel Studios plans on recasting with an even bigger actor for Vulture than Michael Keaton, this news takes Adrian Toomes as the main baddie off the table. Even ignoring that he was already potentially reformed, almost having a role in No Way Home as an ally to Peter.
Although, after Doctor Strange's spell made him forget Peter Parker, he was far more hostile toward Spider-Man in that flawless Morbius post-credit scene. If Vulture returned as the main villain again, it would've stung for Peter as both a harsh reminder of his former life and his impact on others forgotten.
Who Could Be the Villain of Spider-Man: Brand New Day Instead?
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige isn't a big fan of recasting characters played by iconic actors, such as Doctor Optopus, saying, "that you can't get better than Alfred Molina." (via Comibook.com) Feige no doubt feels the same way about William Defoe's Norman Osborn, which means they're both out, but who's left?
If Sony Pictures wanted to have the story more focused on the Multiverse, there's still one villain who could fill that role, who isn't Knull: Morlun. A vampiric universe jumper that loves eating avatars of the Spider-Totem. It'd also be an easy excuse to bring back Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire.
For a more grounded story, Mister Negative seems like a no-brainer. A crime lord who used FEAST, the charity organization Aunt May worked at before she was killed, as a cover for his crimes in the comics. Imagine Peter's reaction to seeing her passion for helping people twisted by a villain in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
No matter who the studios pick, Tom Holland's Peter Parker will still be reeling from having his life destroyed and left vulnerable to whichever villain comes along to ruin (or end) his life as Spider-Man, too.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day was recently pushed back a week and will now release in theaters on July 31, 2026.
