As production continues for Spider-Man: Brand New Day following Tom Holland’s widely reported on-set injury, excitement continues to build for this new era of your friendly neighborhood superhero, which is being helmed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton. This not only comes down to the fellow heroes Spidey will be teaming up with this time around, but also who they will be going up against.
For starters, the inclusion of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher is much more significant than one might initially think, as Frank Castle’s first ever appearance in the comics was 1974’s iconic The Amazing Spider-Man #129, beginning as a villain of Peter Parker’s alter-ego before going on to become Marvel’s quintessential antihero. As such, they might not start off on the best of terms before teaming up to take on the villains of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but since Charlie Cox’s Daredevil has been confirmed to cameo, perhaps he will introduce the two heroes and start them off on better footing…that, or help separate them. If all that wasn’t enough, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk has also been confirmed to feature prominently in the highly anticipated blockbuster.
You might have noticed that I mentioned Brand New Day would feature more than one villain, as so far, Tombstone and Scorpion have been officially confirmed. The former will be played by Marvin Jones III, who also voiced the character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, while the latter will be depicted by none other than Montreal actor Michael Mando, best known for his acclaimed performance as Ignacio “Nacho” Varga in Better Call Saul and the iconic villain Vaas Montenegro in the 2012 video game Far Cry 3. Mando originally played pre-Scorpion Mac Gargan in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming and in a mid-credits scene vowed to take revenge against Spider-Man, whom he blames for his imprisonment and mutilated face.
During this scene, Gargan mentions that he knows “some boys on the outside who’d love to meet [Spider-Man],” which left fans wondering if Marvel were building toward a confrontation with the Sinister Six. Yet, two sequels later and not only is there no sign of the supervillain group, but Mando’s Gargan seemed destined to be yet another unrealized plot thread in the MCU. Then, in August, Marvel confirmed Mando to be returning as the merciless villain, much to the excitement of Spidey fans the world over, yet questions still remained.
Despite the latest set photo leaks – which reveal Mando as Mac Gargan stepping off a helicopter with the same white jumpsuit we last saw him wearing at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, hinting at his potential escape or release from prison – it’s still not totally clear if Scorpion is even Brand New Day’s primary villain. The water was muddied even further with the reveal of Marvin Jone III’s Tombstone, not to mention Sadie Sink’s major role in the movie has yet to be announced, though many theorize she could be playing Black Cat, who could be a villain just as easily as an ally. Tramell Tillman of Severance, and Liza Colón-Zayas of The Bear, both of whom have won an Emmy for their respective shows, have also been cast in undisclosed roles.
There are sure to be more surprises coming as production continues and the inevitable first trailer arrives, but as things stand, it appears that Mando and Jones III are the central villains, with the slight edge going to Mando’s Gargan. However, there is still the possibility of an even bigger bad who is pulling their strings, with Sadie Sink and Trammell Tillman’s mystery characters being the most likely candidates, if this were to be the case.