Late last year, we got word on a late addition to the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with Severance and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning actor Tramell Tillman set to join the ensemble in an undisclosed role.
No details on Tillman's character were shared at the time, but speculation pointed to the actor playing either Peter Parker's Daily Bugle colleague Robbie Robertson, or the villainous Tombstone. More recently, a rumor claimed that he'd been cast as the head of the Department of Damage Control.
Nexus Point News has now confirmed that the latter is accurate, but this character actually has closer ties to the X-Men in the comics.
According to the site, Tillman is playing relatively obscure X-Men villain William Metzger in Brand New Day. The actor has reportedly signed a multi-picture deal "which potentially includes Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men films."
Like his comic book counterpart, this take on Metzger will be an anti-mutant crusader. If this is on the level - and NPN has become a highly reliable source - it may lend credence to rumors that Sadie Sink is playing Jean Grey after all. Previous reports have claimed that Tillman's character will be obsessed with hunting this mysterious metahuman down, with Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) stepping in to take her under his protection.
Though we wouldn't read too much into this (the source is sketchy, but has shared some accurate details in the past), Majestic believes this is how Jean's story will play out.
Tillman was quizzed about his mysterious role during an interview with Variety, but he managed to avoid falling into the trap of confirming anything when asked "how the villain he plays in Spider-Man differs from his Severance character."
"Who says I'm playing a villain," Tillman responded with a smile, before adding that he can't "say much" about it, but he is "enjoying my time" filming Brand New Day.
In addition to Tom Holland as Spidey, Zendaya as MJ and Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Brand New Day's cast includes Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Michael Mando as Scorpion, and Marvin Jones III as Tombstone. Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova is also expected to appear for a cameo.
“I’m spending my time exploring the next stage of this amazing character with a team of the most incredible artists in the world," said director Destin Daniel Cretton during CinemaCon. "We’re all, just daily, nerding out over the suit, how to swing, how to create an event, an emotional story, and a ride that we haven’t really seen before"
"It's day one — my fourth-ever day one on Spider-Man," Holland said in the recently-released BTS video. "You know, it's funny. Putting the suit on, it feels different this time, somehow. It's also the first time we've ever had fans on set for day one, so it's really exciting to share this with them. We've got some familiar faces on set. You know, Im just going to do my best, hopefully get it right. No pressure."
Spider-Man 4 was pushed back a week from July 24, 2026 to July 31, 2026.