Many Spider-Man: Brand New Day set photos have done the rounds online since the movie started shooting in Glasgow at the end of July. However, we still know very little about what's to come next summer.
Tombstone is confirmed to appear, as are The Punisher and The Hulk. There's been some scuttlebutt about Sadie Sink possibly playing Shathra, but Spider-Man: Brand New Day's big bad may, in fact, be The Scorpion.
Mac Gargan has been eager to take his revenge on the wall-crawler since crossing paths with him in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, and a first look at Michael Mando's return as the villain—sans costume—was revealed earlier today.
Now, scooper Daniel Richtman brings an update, claiming that The Scorpion will play a huge role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. With that in mind, it seems safe to assume that he'll suit up at some point; whether J. Jonah Jameson plays a part in the villain's origin story as he did in the comics remains to be seen.
As a reminder, Amazing Spider-Man #20 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko saw Jameson hire Gargan as a private eye tasked with uncovering the wall-crawler's secret identity. When that plan failed, The Daily Bugle Editor in Chief bankrolled a procedure that turned him into The Scorpion, only for the process to drive Gargan insane.
Is the villain arriving at this Department of Damage Control prison or making his escape by helicopter? We believe it's the latter, with the tank that crashes into the building providing a perfect distraction for him to finally be freed.
You can take another look at Mando shooting his Spider-Man: Brand New Day scenes as Gargan in the X post below.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day shares a title with a divisive era of storytelling, which, thanks to a deal with Mephisto, saw the wall-crawler get a fresh start when his marriage to Mary Jane Watson ended and his identity became secret again. He faced many new sinister foes during that time and was surrounded by an overhauled supporting cast, including Mister Negative, Jackpot, Menace, and Carlie Cooper.
Instead, all signs point to Spidey teaming up with (and at some point fighting) The Punisher to take on a Savage Hulk, with The Scorpion thrown in for good measure.
Several other villains are reportedly set to appear in the movie, including Tombstone, Tarantula, Boomerang, and Ramrod. There's been some chatter online about the Venom Symbiote factoring into the story, potentially setting the stage for Mac Gargan to eventually don the alien costume.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings helmer Destin Daniel Cretton directs Spider-Man: Brand New Day from a script by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Tom Holland leads a cast that also includes Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Michael Mando, Tramell Tillman, Marvin Jones III, and Liza Colón-Zayas. Thunderbolts* star Florence Pugh has also joined the cast.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released in theaters on July 31, 2026.