Fans may have been given a taste of Spider-Man: Brand New Day's evil villain plan, according to a new report. Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man 4 will swing into theaters next summer, coming with it a new chapter for Tom Holland's web-headed hero, as well as a brand new villain for the teenage vigilante to take on. Who this villain is remains to be seen, with several of Spidey's most formidable foes already confirmed for the new movie, like Scorpion, Punisher, and Tombstone.
Despite not yet knowing who specifically this new big bad will be in the wall-crawling blockbuster, there have been a handful of teases potentially pointing toward Spider-Man's various clashes with them on-screen, including a new update from filming in the UK.
Insider Daniel Richtman shared on his personal Patreon that Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been filming a sequence in which Holland's web-slinger teams up with Jon Bernthal's Punisher to stop a team of mind-controlled goons. These lackeys were reportedly in the process of breaking the Scorpion (played by Michael Mando) out of jail, perhaps teasing the movie's villain's evil plan.
This comes on top of a recent report, which revealed a massive prison-set battle scene featuring Spidey and some ninjas. It is unclear whether these two sequences are connected in any way, but the MCU movie has been seen shooting at a jail just outside London over the past few weeks.
Richtman's new reporting may suggest that whoever this Brand New Day villain turns out to be, they may want to break out any and every costumed criminal Spidey has brought to justice, forming something of an evil Avengers.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues shooting in the UK, with filming expected to wrap sometime in mid-December. The 2026 MCU movie will see Tom Holland return as Spider-Man, as he enters into a new life as New York's anonymous masked protector. Holland is confirmed to return, with Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton stepping in for Jon Watts to helm the project. Brand New Day is set to be released in theaters on July 31, 2026.
Who Is Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Mind-Controlling Villain?
While details on Spider-Man: Brand New Day's villain have been scarce to this point, fans seemingly now know that, whoever they are, they can control minds.
This had previously been teased with a rumor about Mark Ruffalo's Hulk coming under the control of this mystery foe. However, this mind-controlling superpower has resurfaced in the conversation.
Various villain characters across the Marvel mythos have the power to influence people's minds, but there is one name that stands out as the potential big bad for Spider-Man 4.
For months, the name Mr. Negative has been circling the 2026 MCU blockbuster. The New York-based villain, best known for his appearance in PlayStation's Spider-Man video game series, can use his super-powered 'corruption' ability to control the mind of any unsuspecting bystander, easily creating an army of goons to do his bidding.
This would make sense, given previous reports that Spidey was fighting a group of ninja-like characters during this prison break sequence, with Mr. Negative often using imagery hailing from East Asian cultures that could convey a ninja-esque feeling.
Perhaps, Mr. Negative is this mystery main villain in the new movie, and he is doing precisely what he wanted to do in the first Spider-Man game from PlayStation.
Breaking Scorpion out of prison may be just part of the character's evil plan, with other villains locked behind bars also being a target of this ultra-powerful big bad. With all the reports of multiple villains popping up in the new movie, this would be an easy way to do that, with Mr. Negative seeking out allies in his quest to bring Spidey down.
