The MCU is reportedly going to introduce one of Spider-Man's biggest villains in a future movie. Marvel Studios included some famous Spider-Man villains in Homecoming and Far From Home with Vulture, Mysterio, Shocker, and Scorpion. Meanwhile, No Way Home brought back existing adaptations of Norman Osborn (aka Green Goblin), Doc Ock, Electro, Lizard, and Sandman. Fans have since been wildly theorizing which wall-crawler villain will join the MCU next with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with ideas from Mr. Negative to Menace.
According to a post on X from scooper Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios is "planning to introduce the MCU version of Norman Osborn" in a future project. The news follows Willem Dafoe's Osborn returning in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where he was pulled from the Tobey Maguire-led Ramiverse to wreak havoc and ultimately kill Marisa Tomei's Aunt May.
It's unclear whether the scooper means that the Osborns will appear in Brand New Day or a future Spider-Man outing. Fans have theorized that the famous Marvel villain family will appear in Spider-Man 4 since a casting call sought a "resourceful young man in his early 20s" and a "no-nonsense authority figure who sees the world in black and white" from 30 to 50, seemingly matching the Osborns.
Introducing Norman (and presumably Harry) Osborn in the MCU is certainly a confusing decision after Dafoe's Multiverse-hopper was unable to find his family or Oscorp on Earth-616, indicating they may not even exist there.
Many think that Avengers: Secret Wars' fallout will include a soft reboot of the MCU that could bring the X-Men and Fantastic Four to Earth-616, and perhaps the Osborns will similarly join this world in Phase 7 and beyond. Either way, fans have been waiting a while to meet the MCU's Norman Osborn, but he isn't the only one of Spider-Man's greatest villains yet to join the connected world.
Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn has appeared in both previous Spider-Man franchises, played by James Franco and Dane DeHaan. While Peter Parker's best friend and his greatest villain's son have yet to join the MCU, if Norman is, in fact, on his way to getting rebooted, Harry undeniably won't be far behind.
This could bring plenty of intriguing possibilities given Peter Parker's history with an Osborn Variant who killed his mother figure, Aunt May. Perhaps this saga could start with Peter meeting a young Harry Osborn at college and eventually his father as well, sparking distrust and fears about their potentially evil agenda.
Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter was reportedly considered the villain for Spider-Man: No Way Home until Sony shut down the idea to prioritize his solo project.
Rumors previously circulated that the villains who appear in Sony's Spider-Man Universe are off-limits to the MCU. However, as Kraven the Hunter seemingly ended the spin-off universe for good, these characters may now be on the table for the MCU.
The renowned big-game hunter Sergei Kravinoff is among Spider-Man's most infamous foes, seeking him out in search of the biggest challenge. There's no doubt he would be a formidable threat for Holland's wall-crawler to face, but fans shouldn't expect to see Aaron Taylor-Johnson hold onto the role.
Rhino
Kraven wasn't the only Spider-Man villain to appear in his 2024 flop, as the movie also introduced Rhino. In Marvel Comics, Russian thug Aleksei Sytsevich undergoes an experimental procedure that, in all actuality, turns him into a Rhino.
The Rhino once faced Andrew Garfield's hero in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but that version was rather different and instead operated a mechanical suit. If Marvel Studios does introduce this long-absent and iconic Spider-Man villain, fans can only hope for a more comic-accurate and superhuman Rhino.
Carnage
The MCU teased its symbiotes as a slither of Tom Hardy's Venom was left behind after Spider-Man: No Way Home's Multiversal chaos. Whenever these ideas come to the forefront and Venom finally joins the MCU, hopefully, another famous symbiote, Carnage, will come along with him for a future project.
The legendary, brutal symbiote hosted by serial killer Cletus Kasady was played in Venom: Let There Be Carnage by Woody Harrelson. Many were left disappointed as the flick went PG-13, not R-rated, and swerved much of Carnage's violence, something that the MCU would, unfortunately, likely follow suit with.
Screwball
Screwball is a live-streaming influencer villain who shows off her crimes to the world in hopes of gaining followers and fame. While Screwball has yet to make her live-action debut, she has featured in animation and PlayStation's Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps game DLC, offering challenges to the player.
The skilled gymnast carries a suite of parkour expertise and could bring something different to the MCU than past villains. A future Spider-Man flick could offer commentary on online culture and modern influencers through Screwall, who could work well as a secondary antagonist or one-off opening sequence villain.
Doppelganger
Some fans may be familiar with Doppelganger, a near-mindless duplicate of Spider-Man who acts with animalistic violence. Due to his low intellect and violent nature, Doppelganger often acts as a servant to other villains. This concept could be perfect for a future genius Spider-Man antagonist who could create the wall-crawling clone to send after Peter Parker.
All of those villains would be a perfect fit for a future MCU sequel, but which five superheroes could join Peter Parker in Spider-Man 5?
