We've seen many Spider-Man movies over the years. Some of them make history and reach completely new heights in the superhero genre, while others have quite literally ended entire franchises and warranted a reboot. However, there's one thing that those poorly-received projects have in common: they featured too many characters.
Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 lost its focus while trying to tell a big story that involved Sandman, New Goblin, and Venom. Furthermore, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 plot was messy as it tried to shine the spotlight on Rhino, Electro, and the Green Goblin (and it's worth noting that Black Cat and Alistair Smythe also had a minor role to play, too).
As such, fans have grown a little weary of big Spider-Man projects that are set to feature multiple characters, and for better or worse, it seems that's exactly what we'll have this year in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will reportedly feature even more villains that haven't been revealed yet; could it risk having too many characters?
According to renowned insider Daniel Richtman, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will feature more villains than the ones that have been leaked so far. To make a bit of a recap, both Tombstone and Scorpion are officially confirmed to appear in the movie. Furthermore, the same source has unveiled that the villainous organization called The Hand will act as the main antagonist, while Tarantula, Boomerang, and Ramrod will have a minor role to play.
So far, six villains have been reported to make an appearance, and it looks like there are even more on the horizon. With that in mind, Brand New Day might surpass the number of bad guys featured in Spider-Man: No Way Home. But if that wasn't enough, it's worth remembering that both the Hulk and the Punisher will join the wall-crawler in his upcoming adventure, with rumors suggesting that Yelena Belova is set to make an appearance as well.
Granted, Spider-Man: No Way Home proved that a Spidey movie could work while still featuring many different characters. Three Peter Parkers shared the screen, the Sinister Five joined forces, and even Doctor Strange had his time to shine. However, the wall-crawler's latest adventure worked so well because audiences were already familiarized with all of the characters that were featured in the movie. On the other hand, villains such as Tarantula and Tombstone have yet to make their live-action debut, which makes the job of Spider-Man: Brand New Day even harder.
But before the panic alarms start to sound, we need to ask ourselves whether the many villains rumored to appear in the movie will have a major participation or not. Fortunately, we might already have an answer. Reliable scooper Alex Perez claimed that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will open with a montage of Peter fighting multiple enemies since the end of No Way Home. With each passing battle, we'll see the web-slinger upgrade its suit more and more.
Chances are that the more "unknown" villains—such as Tarantula, Boomerang, and Ramrod—will be part of the opening montage and nothing more. After all, it is unlikely Marvel has bigger plans for them at the moment, but the studio could still see if fans react positively to any of them to make them a recurring antagonist in the wall-crawler's saga. With that in mind, only The Hand, Scorpion, and Tombstone seem to have a major role in the movie.
It's also important to remember that Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton already has two highly acclaimed MCU titles under his belt with Wonder Man and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. So any potential worries of an overcrowded movie seem even less important with him at the helm. With a bit of luck, Peter's next adventure will manage to balance personal, heartfelt moments with big action set pieces involving multiple characters. On the bright side, it won't be long before we finally watch the movie for ourselves.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released on Jul. 31, 2026.