Shortly before the weekend, we learned that Spider-Man: Homecoming star Michael Mando will make his long-awaited MCU return as Mac Gargan, a.k.a. the Scorpion, in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Now, the actor has taken to Instagram to tease both a comic-accurate costume...and Venom?! There have been some rumblings about the alien costume factoring into this movie for a while now, though its introduction still seems like something the Russo Brothers would want to tackle in Avengers: Secret Wars, setting the stage for Spider-Man 5.
Mando, however, may be looking further ahead. After Scorpion is inevitably defeated in this movie, he could eventually take Eddie Brock's place in the MCU by becoming Venom once Peter Parker rids himself of the Symbiote. As you'll likely recall from the comics, Gargan's Venom was far more lethal and deranged than Brock ever was.
The Better Call Saul alum also appeared to tease a comic-accurate costume for his Scorpion. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man put a fresh spin on the villain's suit, but if we do end up with something like this, we're in for a treat.
Yesterday, we got plenty of set photos featuring Tom Holland's web-slinger, mask and all. It's unclear whether any other cast members will be present on set, but shooting has reportedly been cancelled today due to inclement weather in Glasgow, Scotland.
The future looks bright for Spider-Man in the MCU. At the end of 2021, longtime franchise producer Amy Pascal promised, "[Spider-Man: No Way Home] is not the last movie that we are going to make with Marvel – [this is not] the last Spider-Man movie."
"We are getting ready to make the next Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland and Marvel, it just isn't part of..we're thinking of this as three films, and now we're going to go onto the next three," she continued. "This is not the last of our MCU movies. Marvel and Sony are going to keep going together as partners."
Check out Mando's Spider-Man: Brand New Day teases below.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day shares a title with a controversial 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 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. As of now, all signs point to Spidey teaming up with The Punisher to battle a Savage Hulk.
We recently published a feature about how the "Brand New Day" comics will influence the next Spider-Man movie, along with a breakdown of Spidey's best team-ups and clashes with Frank Castle.
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, and Liza Colón-Zayas.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released in theaters on July 31, 2026.