Heading into Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it's no secret that the movie will feature a lot of villains. There's The Scorpion, Tombstone, Boomerang, and Tarantula, for starters, while the Department of Damage Control, The Punisher, and The Hulk could also pose a major problem for Peter Parker.
If Sadie Sink's mysterious character isn't Jean Grey, then she could be anyone from Shathra to the Spider-Queen. As of now, though, we still don't know who the movie's main villain or "big bad" is.
However, they may be hiding in plain sight, and the first teaser trailer even appears to tease their debut. Look at the keg behind Ned Leeds in this shot, and you'll notice that it's labelled "Green Jackal."
As Easter Eggs go, it's hard to ignore, and Marvel Studios was surely aware of the speculation its presence would lead to...
Then, there's the small matter of The Thing and The Princess and the Frog star Keith David's ominous voiceover. "Spiders have three life cycles. When between cycles, it can leave the spider vulnerable to threats," he says. "And for those spiders who make it through...it amounts to a kind of rebirth."
Whoever he's playing seems to know a lot about spiders and, presumably, is an expert in biology and genetics. And, when Peter goes to Bruce Banner for help at Empire State University, it would make sense for him to refer the ally he forgot to someone who specialises in whatever the wall-crawler is going through in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
A certain Dr. Miles Warren, perhaps?
A professor at ESU, he became obsessed with student Gwen Stacy and, when she died, transformed into the villain known as The Jackal. He'd eventually go on to clone her and Spider-Man, creating Ben Reilly, Kaine, Spidercide, and more during the sprawling Clone Saga in the 1990s.
Multiple scoopers have said that The Jackal appears in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and most recently, The Cosmic Circus' Alex Perez wrote, "I know Miles Warren is one of the antagonists in the movie, but as Jackal, not necessarily the scientist."
If The Jackal is the one pulling the strings in this long-awaited follow-up to Spider-Man: No Way Home, we may be looking at a Destin Daniel Cretton-helmed trilogy that revolves around the web-slinger and his clones. Not only would Warren's genetic tampering explain Man-Spider's emergence, but it may lead to another teenager, Miles Morales, eventually acquiring spider powers of his own.
Throw in the fact that Tom Holland would get to sink his teeth into playing multiple versions of the same character, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day could be the start of a seismic shift for this character on our screens.
We'd also be remiss not to mention that Jean Grey has been cloned in the comics. While that didn't involve The Jackal in the comics, there has been some chatter about Sink playing Madelyne Pryor in this movie, so Marvel Studios' plans may be even more far-reaching than we realise.
Following the record-breaking success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man: Brand New Day begins a brand new chapter for Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Four years have passed since the events of No Way Home, and Peter is now an adult and living alone after erasing himself and the memories of him from those he loves.
In a New York that no longer knows his name, he has devoted himself wholeheartedly to protecting his city as Spider-Man full-time. But as the demands on him grow, he is put under increasing pressure. This triggers an unexpected physical change that threatens his existence, while a strange wave of crime emerges - and gives rise to one of the most dangerous threats he has ever faced.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day's cast includes Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, and Mark Ruffalo.
The movie is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers. The film is produced by Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad and Rachel O'Connor.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31, 2026.