Spider-Man: Brand New Day is believed to have started pre-production in the UK this week, but we're still no closer to knowing for sure what the movie is about. A seemingly endless list of villains has been shared by social media scoopers (one of them has to be proven right eventually if they pick everyone), and we can now add two more to the list.
According to The Cosmic Circus' Alex Perez, he’s seen concept art suggesting Viper and Silver Samurai will be the movie's main villains. Versions of both characters were paired up in 2013's The Wolverine, and the insider suggests Spidey will be joined by Shang-Chi.
However, we'd be remiss not to point out that Perez was firm in his belief that Spider-Man: Brand New Day would feature Venom and Knull shortly after the release of Venom: The Last Dance. So, take this with a pinch of salt.
He also claims to have heard that several established MCU characters could appear in the movie, not just The Hulk (and presumably Shang-Chi, the character introduced by Spider-Man: Brand New Day filmmaker Dustin Daniel Cretton in 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings). It sounds like the movie will also set the stage for Bruce Banner's MCU future heading into Avengers: Doomsday.
Elaborating on The Hulk's role, he states, "What I heard involves a connection [between Peter Parker and Bruce] dating back to the earliest days of the MCU and exploring some uncharted territory for both characters’ personal histories."
Finally, the scooper shares his belief that Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Daredevil: Born Again, and The Punisher Special Presentation are the only projects likely to feed into the Mayor Fisk storyline, and reiterates that the web-slinger’s alien costume will be featured in this movie. There’s a lot of hedging of bets there.
We’ll see what happens, but the biggest takeaway has to be the mention of Silver Samurai and Viper, two characters we never expected to see Spider-Man do battle with in the MCU.
The Silver Samurai, a.k.a. Kenuichio Harada, wields a tachyon-energy-charged katana that can cut through nearly anything. Initially a villain, often clashing with Wolverine and the X-Men, he later became an anti-hero. As for Viper (often known as Madame Hydra) is a terrorist who is as proficient in weaponry as she is in toxicology and martial arts. Captain America and Wolverine are among her most prolific foes.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day shares a title with a controversial era of storytelling, which saw Marvel Comics give the wall-crawler a fresh start by ending his marriage to Mary Jane Watson and making his identity secret again. He faced many new sinister foes during that time and was surrounded by an overhauled supporting cast, including a resurrected Harry Osborn.
Mister Negative, Jackpot, Menace, and Carlie Cooper were some of the standout additions to his world, and are among the most likely possibilities to make an appearance next summer. You can learn more about how "Brand New Day" may influence the next Spider-Man movie here.
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 Zendaya, Sadie Sink, and Liza Colón-Zayas.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released in theaters on July 31, 2026.