Spider-Man: Brand New Day is scheduled to drop next year, and filming is taking place in Glasgow this month with Marvel superstar Tom Holland.
Alongside this, The Hollywood Reporter dropped several bits of major casting news, while other images seemed to hint at another villain joining the roster. Many might have been hoping for Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk from the Daredevil TV series.
Spider-Man vs Kingpin is a story MCU fans have been awaiting for years. Despite that, the most recent rumours don’t seem to be pointing towards the NYC villain being involved in this film – yet.
Potential spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day from filming rumours and casting announcements below .
Spider-Man: Brand New Day could feature numerous villains
Rumours of Fisk’s involvement in the film really started to ramp up in June, when Deadline confirmed that Jon Bernthal would reprise his role as Frank Castle, AKA Punisher. The character briefly teamed up with Matt Murdock in the first season of Daredevil: Born Again , though the two butted heads frequently.
At the beginning of August, that all changed. The Hollywood Reporter published a piece stating that Mark Ruffalo would be returning as Bruce Banner/The Hulk in Brand New Day. We don’t yet know whether Ruffalo will be an ally to Peter, or if we’ll get a more out-of-control version of the big green guy, such as Savage Hulk.
Ruffalo was last seen on-screen in the 2022 Disney+ series, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
The same article also confirmed that Michael Mando, best known for his role as Nacho on Better Call Saul, will reprise his role as Mac Gargan, AKA Scorpion. The character first appeared in the MCU in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, and had a post-credits scene with Vulture that had so far been left unresolved .
The last possible villain rumour doesn’t have any casting announcement, but keen fans in Scotland have spotted a tank with a logo that strongly resembles one seen in Insomniac’s Spider-Man games. The logo shown is associated with a group called Inner Demons, which is led by Martin Li, AKA Mister Negative.
Mister Negative’s powers include dark mind control manipulation, as well as superhuman strength and reflexes. Therefore, there’s speculation that this villain may use his abilities to turn characters against one another to cause chaos in New York, especially if he manages to influence Banner.
No filming leaks or announcements from trades have confirmed anything to do with Vincent D’Onofrio. However, the actor has now finished filming for Daredevil: Born Again season 2, as confirmed by his post on Twitter/X:
That could potentially free him up to shoot something for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, even if it’s a short scene or cameo right at the end. But with all the cast announcements and leaks above (if they are accurate), it feels unlikely that the fourth Spidey film will focus solely on the Kingpin as the main villain.
But don’t forget, Brand New Day is expected to be the first in another trilogy of Spider-Man films with Holland , which could mean that we’re eventually building towards Peter Parker and Wilson Fisk facing off against one another as the big showdown – just like with Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osbourne/Green Goblin in No Way Home.
And certainly, bringing Punisher into the mix still keeps that hope alive.
Spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again and Spider-Man: No Way Home below
What role could Punisher play in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
The trade magazines that broke the news of Bernthal’s role did not disclose anything about how his character would intersect with Peter Parker. However, every Spider-Man film starring Tom Holland has had at least one ‘mentor’ for the hero.
Homecoming was Tony Stark/Iron Man, Far From Home was Nick Fury, with Quentin Beck/Mysterio also playing the role (admittedly, for nefarious means), while Far From Home was Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange, and Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men.
Frank Castle is certainly a left-field choice to be a mentor, considering his methods are much more radical than Peter’s. The Hollywood Reporter writes that it could mean a grittier story, perhaps with less multiverse and alien action, and more street-level villains. Mando returning as Scorpion certainly seems to support this theory.
The last Spider-Man film left Peter more alone than ever, with both Ned and MJ forgetting who he was, and Aunt May dying to save her nephew. So, perhaps having a mentor who was more ruthless and violent could make for a compelling story, with Peter struggling with his morals.
Another option is to have Castle play more of a villain role. When he was first introduced in the comics in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 in 1974, he was an assassin sent to kill Peter, so this could play into the film. If the ‘true’ enemy of Brand New Day is Mister Negative, then Castle may be turned against Spider-Man unwillingly.
Frank finished Born Again seemingly breaking out of Kingpin’s private prison at Red Hook Pier. He did this by luring in a guard who idolised him – you may remember that many of Fisk’s secret task force co-opted Punisher’s skull logo for their own thuggish behaviour.
Punisher is set to have one standalone episode on Disney+ and will also appear in season 2 of Born Again. Fisk will continue to be a main villain in the show, and an enemy of Frank’s… but could Peter be dragged into this conflict as well?
One line from season 1 does provide some hope for the future.
The Kingpin called out Spider-Man in Daredevil: Born Again
At the start of Daredevil: Born Again, Wilson Fisk clawed his way back to the top, having landed the coveted job of Mayor of New York City.
Marvel Television
One key policy of his campaign was that he would outlaw vigilantes – those who take the law into their own hands – in the city. Obviously, this is a problem for Matt Murdock as Daredevil, but it may impact another NYC resident.
In his New Year’s Eve speech, which was broadcast on the screens of Times Square in episode 2, Fisk drew attention to the unsafe streets of New York, and gave the following quote – pay attention to the part in bold:
“Thank you, New York. Vanessa and I, we offer our deepest regards. It’s humbling to be sitting here, speaking to you as mayor this evening. Beginning of the new year, and most importantly, a new era for the greatest city in the world. This city is in shambles. Crime, poverty, a feeling of uneasiness, as if any moment, things could explode. “But New Yorkers are tough. We know how to take care of ourselves. We don’t need a gun-toting vigilante who wears a skull on his chest, or a man who dresses in a spider outfit , or a guy who wears devil horns to save us. No. We’ll be our best once again.”
In that last part he calls out both Punisher (Frank Castle) and Daredevil (Matt Murdock), but he also refers to Spider-Man – AKA, Peter Parker.
Sony
The third Spider-Man film, No Way Home, concludes with Doctor Strange erasing Peter’s identity from the minds of everyone who met him – that includes Matt Murdock, who gave him some law advice earlier in the film.
However, a news report from J. Jonah Jameson confirmed that Spider-Man is still active in the city – people know that the mysterious masked hero fights crime, and clearly, Wilson Fisk has taken notice.
So, why is this such a big deal?
Fisk is originally a Spider-Man villain
While Netflix fans will know Fisk as a foe to Daredevil, he made his Marvel Comics debut in The Amazing Spiderman #50 back in 1967.
He’s also starred as a villain in other Spidey properties such as the nineties Spider-Man animated series, and Into the Spider-Verse.
Fans of the MCU have longed to see Tom Holland and Vincent D’Onofrio go head-to-head on screen, but that’s not yet happened. The fact that Matt has technically met Peter before (even if he doesn’t remember it) provided hope that a Spider-Man and Kingpin face-off could be where the MCU is officially heading.
Castle joining Spider-Man: Brand New Day only seemed to reinforce these rumours even more. However, the most recent casting announcements for the film do temper expectations a little bit. If the Kingpin is still on the table for MCU films, he may be a more long-game villain for the trilogy, rather than a one-off.
The two superheroes teamed up in the animated Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man on Disney+, with actor Charlie Cox stepping into the voice-acting booth, further fuelling fans’ desires to see a crossover between the two Marvel properties.
Creatives behind the scenes haven’t given too much away, either.
Marvel Studios has downplayed a Spider-Man Vs Kingpin story
The chance of Tom Holland making a cameo in Daredevil: Born Again is unlikely, and that’s due to a rights issue between Disney and Sony. Marvel Studios Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation Brad Winderbaum explains more on the Phase Hero podcast :
“I’m not sure exactly what the rules are, but I think they have long-form television rights at Sony… he can do like 30-minute animation, I think.”
That’s not to say that another deal couldn’t be hashed out for season 2, which is due for release in March 2026… the same year as Spider-Man: Brand New Day (31 July 2026).
But what about the Daredevil leads appearing in a Marvel movie with Peter Parker? Well again, the reports aren’t looking too promising. Fisk actor Vincent D’Onofrio gave the following quote to Meltdown Press in February when asked about their involvement with Spider-Man 4:
“Well, for you, we’re not. You can ask that because we’re not in Spider-Man 4, or at least nobody has told me that we are.”
Again, it could be an elaborate double bluff, but that’s the only word we have thus far. Separately, Charlie Cox shared his enthusiasm with GQ in 2025 in regard to being involved in a future Avengers film (such as Doomsday or Secret Wars), which could also star Tom Holland:
“I would love to be in one of the Avengers films, or another Spider-Man, or something like that. For a couple of reasons. One, because over the years I have become a geeky fan of the character, and I weirdly, for the character’s sake, feel like it’d be really cool for him to get that kind of upgrade”.
Marvel 2024 / Giovanni Rufino
So even if Peter Parker doesn’t meet Daredevil or Kingpin in Born Again season 2 or Spider-Man 4, either of the Avengers films could still be an option, and so could Spider-Man 5 or 6.
But don’t forget Marvel’s track record of misleading fans with fake trailer footage and Andrew Garfield lying through his teeth in every interview when questioned about returning as Peter Parker. The hope is still alive for a Peter Parker vs Wilson Fisk showdown until we hear otherwise.
Author: Hannah Cowton-Barnes, Entertainment Editor, Tech Advisor
As Tech Advisor’s Entertainment Editor, Hannah is the resident expert in all things streaming, film and TV. Before joining Tech Advisor in 2019, she studied Theatre and Performance at the University of Leeds and created a website dedicated to geek culture and lifestyle. She’s also reviewed a whole range of gadgets including flagship smartphones, wearables and styling tools. Outside of Foundry, she’s written freelance pieces for Polygon, Metro and Den of Geek, and is proud to be a Women Techmakers Ambassador for Google.
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