Marvel’s First Family finally joined the MCU in The Fantastic Four: First Steps just in time to help the Avengers and X-Men attempt to save a collapsing Multiverse. While the film hasn’t blown up the box office, Disney head honcho Bob Iger stated that the film, directed by Matt Shakman, “successfully launched this important franchise into the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” ahead of their appearances in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars; however, at this point, despite rumors that Marvel Studios was set to move ahead with a sequel, again directed by Shakman, there has been no official word.
With four unfilled dates on its 2028 theatrical slate, Marvel could be eyeing one of them for a sequel to First Steps but if they are, they haven’t told anyone yet, including the writer of the first film, Eric Pearson. In an interview with Comic Book, Pearson, who has worked on several MCU films, including Thunderbolts*, explained that while he has some great ideas for a sequel, there’s a really good reason he hasn’t begun work on one just yet.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 21: Eric Pearson attends The Fantastic Four: First Steps World Premiere at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California on July 21, 2025. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney)
“I honestly don’t know. I’m such a literal person that I would need to understand the fallout of how everything looks and who knows who out of Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars,” he explained. “I don’t know where we are all sitting. Sometimes, when everything is on the table, you don’t know what to eat.” With Avengers: Doomsday deep into its production and still with an unfinished script, Pearson‘s point is very to the point.
“Would it be cool to see them in a murder mystery together? Sure. Would it be cool to see them in a time-travelling romp? Sure, that would be cool. There are all these different things, but you don’t want to completely upset the apple cart,” he explained of trying to make plans for the First Family without knowing what will happen to them in two Avengers films over the next two years. “I feel like anything I’d have to say really doesn’t matter until we see how all our favorite characters survive the upcoming adventures with Victor von Doom.” With Avengers: Secret Wars primed to rest the MCU into what Kevin Feige called a “single timeline,” here’s to hoping The Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom both find their ways onto it for many more adventures.
Based on rumors and reports, Peter Parker looks to have his hands full in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In addition to villains Scorpion, Tombstone, Tarantula, Boomerang and Ramrod, he’ll also cross paths with Frank Castle and a rampaging Hulk! That’s certainly enough to keep any friendly neighborhood Spider-Man busy but it sounds as though another classic Spidey foe may join the fray.
According to a set report from Glasgow World editor Paul Trainer, hidden in the “massive set piece” featured in multiple set photos and videos shared online last week was “a mock-up of the top half of the tank” Spider-Man was seen chasing. Though it was not seen in set leaks nor photographed by Trainer, the writer claims the mock-up tank has a prop attached to the front of it that “was the shape of a rhino’s head.”
Though this is the first mention of the villain, who has battled with Spidey in the pages of Marvel Comics since 1966, an appearance by the chuckleheaded Russian thug does actually make at least some sense. Michael Mando recently teased that his Mac Gargan may be suiting up in a comic-accurate Scorpion suit in the film which could support the idea that someone is working behind the scenes to power up otherwise some of Spidey’s street-level foes.
A recent report by insider Daniel Richtman stated that the main villain of Spider-Man: Brand New Day has yet to be revealed. While it certainly will not be Rhino, perhaps it will be a hidden benefactor with a grudge against the Spider…
During his latest podcast, Sneider shared that he’s “still hearing Jean Grey” when asking his sources about Sink’s role.
The amount of conflicting insider information around Sink’s role is incredible, especially considering the fluctuating nature of the tea coming from Sneider ‘s sources. However, given what’s known about the film, Grey may actually make sense within the plot, though how the young mutant’s origin would be handled or if the studio would want to include another major Marvel character when The Punisher and Hulk are already set for pivotal parts in the film are both questions worth considering.
For now, it seems all fans can do is speculate and debate as Sink has yet be caught on camera on the Glasgow, Scotland sets. Should she indeed be Grey, she may not have a large part in the action until after Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner turns “savage.” The two have faced off in the pages of Marvel Comics with Grey using her incredible telepathic and telekinetic abilities to get the upper hand over the Hulk.
The MCU’s Peter Parker has not had it easy. After being orphaned as a young boy, Parker has lost his the aunt and uncle who raised him and Tony Stark, who mentored him into the world of superheroes. Most recently, in an effort to save the Multiverse, Parker convinced Stephen Strange to cast the runes of Kof-Kol, twisting the spell to ensure he was forgotten by everyone he had ever known, stripping him of his relationships with Ned and MJ. Alone, Parker began rebuilding his life with a renewed commitment to fighting crime as a friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man.
The next installment in the Spidey franchise, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, looks set to honor the path Parker set out upon at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, keeping the hero close to the streets of New York rather than traveling to space or fighting for the fate of the Multiverse. Reports have him set to face off with street-level villains Tombstone, Tarantula, Boomerang and Scorpion whole also dealing with a vengeful Frank Castle and a rampaging Bruce Banner. Nobody said street-level meant it would be easy and Parker Luck dictates it could never be any other way. Now, a new rumor claims that another new character is set to join the complex concoction of Parker’s life and it’s one that could have a devastating impact on his journey.
YouTube host Kristian Harloff has reported that he has been given a “pretty good guarantee” that Sadie Sink—who joined the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day in March–is set to play Gwen Stacy in the 2026 flick, helmed by Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton.
I know we all think that we’re immortal…but what makes life valuable is that it doesn’t last forever. What makes it precious is that it ends… Make [your life] count for something; fight for what matters to you, no matter what. … It’s easy to feel hopeful on a beautiful day like today. But there will be dark days ahead of us, too. There will be days where you feel all alone. And that’s when hope is needed most. No matter how buried it gets, or how lost you feel, you must promise me that you will hold on to hope. Keep it alive. We have to be greater than what we suffer. My wish for you is to become hope. People need that. And even if we fail, what better way is there to live?
-Gwen Stacy’s graduation speech from The Amazing Spider-Man 2
There have been plenty of rumors about who Sink might be playing in the film; however, should she indeed be playing Gwen, it could set up another haunting turn for Holland‘s Parker. Having met Andrew Garfield‘s Peter 3 and hearing his story in Spider-Man: No Way Home, meeting Gwen Stacy in his reality should certainly set off Peter 1’s Peter Tingle.
Though the character only made 80 appearances in the comics before her death in Gerry Conway‘s two-part “The Night Gwen Stacy” died, Peter’s role in her death (the impulse from his webs snapped her spine as it stopped her fall so abruptly) tormented the hero for years. As seen in No Way Home, Garfield’s Peter 3 was similarly impacted by his Gwen’s death, growing into an angry and not-so-friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
I lost… I lost Gwen. My, uh… She was my MJ. I couldn’t save her. I’m never gonna be able to forgive myself for that. But I carried on. Tried to, uh… tried to keep going, tried to keep being the… that friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, because I know that’s what she would have wanted. But… at some point, I just… I stopped pulling my punches. I got rageful. I got bitter. I just don’t want you, to end up like… like me.
-Peter 3
Assuming Sink is playing Stacy, the audience would feel a strong sense of dramatic irony and suspense over the course of Spider-Man: Brand New Day which then opens the doors to Cretton throwing a twist in the mix. Given that Sony co-produces the MCU-set Spider-Man films, they may have their own plans for Gwen Stacy and the character could be revealed to be a multiversal Ghost Spider Variant, allowing her to star in her own franchise. And then again, she may not be Gwen or any of the other characters she’s been rumored to be and all these words were wasted…
Filming is underway on Spider-Man: Brand New Day and after years of rumors and reports about the film’s plot, it’s become clear that Marvel and Sony are setting the fourth installment in the Spidey franchise on the streets. Don’t be fooled though; despite stepping back from the Multiverse, the film is jam-packed with Marvel heroes and villains.
Tom Holland will be sharing the screen with Mark Ruffalo‘s Hulk and Jon Bernthal‘s Punisher. Nearly a decade after his last appearance in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Michael Mando will return as Mac Gargan and will likely be looking to settle a score with the Web-Slinger but he’s not the only baddie set to face off with Spider-Man as Tombstone, Boomerang and Tarantula are among the other street-level tough guys reported to be in the film. That’s a loaded roster and that’s not everyone as Sadie Sink‘s role remains a mystery and there are a few more rumored roles yet to be confirmed, leaving fans to wonder just what kind of crazy story Destin Daniel Cretton is planning to tell…but as is almost always the case with Marvel Studios’ films, it’s probably a relatively straightforward plot.
Though Marvel Studios is attempting to make it’s shared cinematic universe feel a little less connected, it’s likely that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will share at least a little DNA with a pair of 2026 Marvel Television projects: Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again and The Punisher Special Presentation. For those worried about “homework”, there’s probably not much concern and the connectivity can probably be addressed in a line or two of dialogue. Wilson Fisk’s tyrannical rule has ended, the criminal underworld is open for business and Frank Castle is out to punish the scum of New York City. This opens the door for Tombstone, Tarantula, Boomerang and a host of other D-listers to pop up in the film. It even provides an opportunity for Cretton to do one of the coolest things in any Marvel Studios film to date by including The Bar With No Name: a secret supervillain venue where the baddies can bond over booze. However, as fun as Spidey quipping while beating up bad guys is, it is not two hours worth of fun and it totally disregards one of the absolute best rumors about the film: the Savage Hulk.
Even as photos from the Glasgow set seemingly teased the presence of the Inner Demons, Li’s Tong of masked goons, in the film, there’s never been any solid report the Mister Negative is in the film and recent rumblings have leaned toward the character not making an appearance. So how does the Hulk become Savage? I’d like to propose a far more tantalizing option: a Venomized Hulk.
It doesn’t truly require a Hulk-sized leap to get to a Banner who has become a host for Venom, especially when a fragment of the symbiote already resides on Earth-616 and Spider-Man: Brand New Day features one of Marvel Comics’ most brutal hosts of the Klyntar in Gargan.
With the symbiote fragment residing in Mexico and Banner’s Gamma Lab also there, it would be easy enough for two to meet; however, there’s no guarantee that Venom simply bonding with Banner would drive a transformation to the Savage Hulk. But given the significant psychological impact hosts can leave on the symbiote, having Venom bond with Gargan first and absorbing his hatred of Spidey before bonding with Banner might be enough to bring the beast out.
After being chased through New York City by The Punisher, Gargan (hopefully in full Scorpion gear) and Castle’s business is interrupted by Spidey. Whether because Spidey and Punisher throw down or some other reason, Gargan is able to escape the city. While regrouping in Mexico, Gargan heads out for a drink and finds himself at the same bar where Tom Hardy‘s Eddie Brock learned the history of the MCU from Cristo Fernández‘s bartender and ultimately encounters the fragment of the symbiote.
Embracing the power provided by bonding with the symbiote, Gargan heads back to NYC for Round 2. While he’d certainly have the upper hand, I’d expect Spidey and/or Castle to discover how heat or high-frequency sonics adversely affect Venom and separate the symbiote from Gargan. And with an angry little alien to study and no Tony Stark to study it, Peter turns to the next smartest man he knows and heads to Banner’s Gamma Lab.
While studying the symbiote, it bonds with Hulk, turning him “savage” and fueling him with Gargan ‘s hatred for the Wall-Crawler and back, perhaps, to NYC for an absolutely insane big battle goes the Venomized Hulk.
This would, of course, set Holland’s Spidey up to become Venom’s host just in time for the events of Avengers: Secret Wars, allowing the character to sport the iconic black symbiote suit in the film that shares the name of the book where it made its first appearance. Perhaps it’s all too convenient and the real plot of Spider-Man: Brand New Day will go in an entirely different and symbiote-free direction but you can’t say this wouldn’t make for a whole hell of a lot of fun at the movie theater!
Principal photography for Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues in Glasgow, Scotland where a scene featuring Spidey chasing a tank rumored to be driven by Jon Bernthal‘s Frank Castle has been filmed in the public eye for several days. After being rained out yesterday, the cast and crew on back on set today to film an incredible chase scene that includes a rig that allows Tom Holland‘s stunt double to swing through the streets practically.
— Spider-Man: Brand New Day Updates (@spideyupdated) August 5, 2025
While incredibly popular and successful, Jon Watts‘ MCU-set Spider-Man trilogy was subject to some criticism for the lack of shots of the Web-Slinger swinging through NYC. That criticism appears to have reached the ears of Marvel Studios as Destin Daniel Cretton‘s installment in the franchise has gone to extraordinary lengths to capture what’s sure to be an iconic chase.
Movies aren’t necessarily filmed in order, it would certainly start the new Spidey film off with a bang if it opens in media res with Spider-Man in the middle of a chase scene full of the kind of sweeping swinging shots fans have been asking for.
After appearing briefly as Mac Gargan in Spider-Man: Homecoming, it seemed as though Michael Mando‘s homicidal baddie was being prepped to be a major pain in Peter Parker’s side. However, the Spidey trilogy went in a different direction and director Jon Watts never came back around to Gargan and the promise of Homecoming’s post-credit scene was seemingly forgotten.
New director Destin Daniel Cretton did not forget, as it turns out. As filming on Spider-Man: Brand New Day got underway in Glasgow, Scotland, a trade report revealed that Mando had signed on to reprise the role of Gargan. Now, the actor has taken to Instagram to share a pair of interesting teases about the character’s role in the film.
In a pair of Instagram stories, Mando teased the potential for Gargan to not only suit up as Scorpion but also become a host for the symbiote that Tom Hardy‘s Eddie Brock left behind in the MCU.
Both options are incredibly enticing and there’s plenty of room to adapt Gargan’s Scorpion origin story in the MCU. While Doctor Strange’s spell may have caused people to forget who Peter Parker was, Mando‘s Gargan would have plenty of reason to continue holding a grudge against Spider-Man. More interesting, however, is the idea that Gargan could somehow become the MCU’s Venom, bonding with small fragment of the character that stayed on Earth-616 during all the Multiversal Madness that took place in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Gargan was a far more monstrous and murderous host for the symbiote than Eddie Brock after bonding with the Klyntar in the comics and it would certainly be a fun way to set the MCU’s Venom apart from Sony’s version. Gargan has more reason to hate Spider-Man than just about any other MCU character, allowing for this iteration of Venom to incorporate that core feature of the character.
For the sake of comparison, here’s a look at some of Holland’s other suits from his time as Spidey in the MCU.
The new suit shares some similarities with the Swinging Spidey Suit sported by Holland at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home but also has a much larger spider on the chest. It’s possible an in-universe explanation could be that the latest suit could feature updates inspired by his time with Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire’s Spideys.
Marvel has often allowed characters and their costumes to be revealed through low-quality set photos, leading to plenty of criticism when fans struggle to comprehend the movie magic that allows for things to look different than they do to the naked eye. With principal photography getting underway on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it appears the studio has chosen to get ahead of the leaks for once.
In a post shared by several official studio social media accounts, Tom Holland‘s new Spidey suit has been revealed (kind of) and, to the delight of many, will feature raised webbing similar to Toby Maguire‘s suit from the Sam Raimi Spidey trilogy and Andrew Garfield‘s suit in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
With just four movies set to release over the next two and a half years, Marvel Studios Multiverse Saga is slowly approaching the finish line. Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday will land in theaters in 2026 before a yet-to-be revealed project and Avengers: Secret Wars wrap up the studio’s second cinematic saga. Of course, work is already well underway on the MCU’s next chapter, which will feature a new take on the X-Men.
Though studio head Kevin Feige and Disney boss Bob Iger continue to promise a reduction in Marvel’s theatrical output, the most recent release calendar shows four Marvel Studios films intended to release in 2028. That’s as many films in 2028 as the studio intends to release over the next 29 months! And now, a new report reveals which film the studio is currently hoping will launch its saga.
According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, the third installment in Ryan Coogler‘s Black Panther franchise is slated to go into production in early 2027 with a targeted release date of February 18, 2028.
In January, a flurry of reports clouded the future of the Black Panther franchise as Sneider and fellow insider My Time To Shine Hello shared conflicting information about the studio’s plans to recast the role of T’Challa, originally filled by the late Chadwick Boseman. Producer Nate Moore addressed those rumors in February, saying “None of that’s true. We just haven’t gotten there yet, to be honest, but I am very excited to start those conversations hopefully this year.” According to a recent report by Variety’s Tatiana Siegel, those conversations have begun and “ideas are percolating” for Black Panther 3 “creating excitement internally” at the studio.
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