5 Potential Villains For Tom Holland’s Marvel Movie

After the billion-dollar hit of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the fourth Tom Holland-led Spidey movie has been surprisingly slow-moving. But it is in the works, and targeting a July 2026 release date. “Spider-Man 4” recently scored a new female lead in actress Sadie Sinkbut what about the movie’s big bad?

There’s been no confirmed villain and, truthfully, the Spider-Man films have already gone through his major adversaries. “No Way Home” even brought back past villains for a multiversal Sinister Six (or, rather, Frightening Five?). That probably cools the chances of us getting a Marvel Cinematic Universe-original Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, etc. for now.

Kraven the Hunter has been the perennial “they’ll definitely do him in the next movie” pick since back when Andrew Garfield was still going to get his “Amazing Spider-Man 3.” But Sony instead chose to make a (terrible) “Kraven the Hunter” solo movieso I doubt they’ll want to drag him out again so soon. Similarly, two separate takes on the Rhino both failed to make a positive impression in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and “Kraven the Hunter.” Maybe third time’s the charm, but Rhino has never been a villain that can hold a full movie on his own.

The masked menace Chameleon was Spider-Man’s very first super-villain. But we already had a deceptive villain in “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” so Chameleon’s master-of-disguise schtick might feel too repetitive yet also watered down compared to Mysterio’s illusions. Some of those illusions included Hydro-Man and Molten Man, so count them out as well. Hobgoblin? They already dragged out Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin for round 2 back in “No Way Home,” and any new goblin-themed villain is going to fall short next to him. The Clone Saga? If Marvel Studios is wise, they’ll steer away from that mess.

So, where does that leave “Spider-Man 4” with picking the proper villain? It’s got few options, but certainly not none.

Here is, for me, the obvious pick. Felicia Hardy is Spider-Man’s sometimes enemy, sometimes lover. An unscrupulous thief and adrenaline junkie, she’s still got a soft spot for her “Spider.” Black Cat is a transparent riff on Catwoman, feline theme and all. This kitty has not only claws, but superpowers too. Black Cat can curse others with “bad luck,” similar to Domino’s mutant powers or the Scarlet Witch’s chaos magic.

Black Cat remains one of the most enduring Spider-Man characters who hasn’t appeared in a movie — though not for lack of trying. Anne Hathaway was set to play Felicia in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 4,” but that film of course fell through. (Hathaway soon got to play the real Catwoman in 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises.”) Felicity Jones played Felicia Hardy in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” but the character was an Oscorp secretary. The cameo was likely setting Felicia up to become Black Cat, but that particular spin-off stayed in development hell.

As I wrote once at IGN“Spider-Man 4” is the perfect time for Black Cat to enter the MCU Peter Parker’s world. Black Cat’s attraction to Spider-Man is very conditional; she loves Spider-Man and only Spider-Man, not Peter Parker. If she could have her way, Peter would leave behind his normal life so she and him could be their “true” costumed selves night and day. When “No Way Home” ended, everyone had lost their memories of Peter Parker, so Peter has no one left except Spider-Man. Black Cat trying to woo him away from being Peter Parker altogether will sound very tempting when he has nothing to hold onto in that identity.

The one problem is that Black Cat isn’t a “big bad,” exactly. She’s not an evil mastermind, and is too intrigued by Spider-Man to seriously threaten him. I maintain Black Cat should be in “Spider-Man 4,” but she’d fit in best by teaming up with our hero against another villain.

Besides Kraven and Chameleon, Scorpion is the most enduring villain who has never fought Spider-Man in a live-action movie. Debuting in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #20, Mac Gargan went from a poor PI to a super-villain thanks to a J. Jonah Jameson-funded experiment. Scorpion was designed to be the anti-Spider-Man, and he’s generally a powerful but nasty villain, perfect for one-on-one brawls that push Peter to the edge.

You might forget, but Gargan is already in the MCU. He appeared in “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” played by Michael Mando, as a mundane criminal. In the film’s post-credits scene, Gargan said he wanted revenge on Spider-Man for putting him away, potentially setting him up to become the Scorpion, but this thread has yet to be followed up on.

Recently, Scorpion appeared as a major villain in Disney+ animated series “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.” (That show is not MCU canon, but it is MCU inspired.) There’s two ways to read this: Mando’s Scorpion will return and the show was gearing audiences up for that. Or, alternatively, the exact opposite: Scorpion won’t be returning soon and that’s why “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” was free to use him. I hope it’s the former, because this Scorpion deserves its day in the sun.

This is a match-up fans have been clamoring for since 2015: Tom Holland’s Spider-Man vs. Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, as seen on “Daredevil” and now “Daredevil: Born Again.” Kingpin is a more personal enemy of Daredevil, but he started as a Spider-Man villain. He debuted in Stan Lee and John Romita’s “Amazing Spider-Man” #50, rocking his Sydney Greenstreet-inspired look from the beginning. Kingpin still often fights the webhead to this day, as well.

Charlie Cox cameoed as Matt Murdock in “No Way Home,” so why not get Fisk in there next? Holland’s Spider-Man can’t appear in any of the MCU Disney+ shows under the current rights agreement between Sony and Marvel. So, if this Spidey is going to fight Kingpin, it’d have to be in a movie. D’Onofrio has denied that he is appearing in “Spider-Man 4,” but rumors as recent as January 2025 report that the script is still undergoing rewrites, and the script for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was being constantly rewritten even during production.

“Daredevil: Born Again” has seen Fisk be elected the Mayor of New York City on an anti-vigilante platform. On one hand, this creates an obvious opening for him to be in “Spider-Man 4.” It’d be weird if Fisk’s mayoral regime had no effect on Spider-Man, a famous New York vigilante. While Marvel Studios might prefer that “Spider-Man 4” not interfere with plans for “Daredevil: Born Again” or vice versa, “Born Again” season 2 will have already aired by the time “Spider-Man 4” hits theaters. Depending on where that season leaves Fisk, there could be an opening for him to face a Spider instead of a Devil.

Best of all, Kingpin wouldn’t preclude the previous suggestions on this list. Kingpin often has enmity with Black Cat (she’s not afraid to steal even from New York’s most dreaded crime lord), and he’s a perfect head honcho villain to employ a super-powered attack dog like Scorpion.

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” ended with the promise that Holland’s Spider-Man would look after the little guy while letting the Avengers handle the big villains. But his subsequent appearances didn’t follow through on that.

Spider-Man’s next appearance in “Infinity War” saw him become an Avenger after all, “Far From Home” took him trotting across Europe, and “No Way Home” saw him fight to keep the web of the multiverse from breaking down. After this, lots of Spidey fans want a “street-level” movie about him dealing with more personal stakes. A crime boss villain is the perfect pick for a movie like that. And if not Kingpin, there’s always Mister Negative.

Martin Li is a Chinese-American with a split personality and powers to complement it. His public persona is a philanthropist, but when he becomes Mister Negative, he’s a ruthless gangster. His name comes from his appearance; his skin turns black and his hair white, like a photographic negative.

Li’s powers come from a connection to the “Darkforce” dimension, and give him a wide range of abilities: he has super-strength, the ability to heal and influence others by touching them, he can create Darkforce constructs, etc. Similar to the Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Kingpin, Mister Negative can challenge Spider-Man both physically and mentally.

Created by Dan Slott and Phil Jimenez, Mister Negative debuted in 2008 during the “Brand New Day” soft reboot of Spider-Man comics. That era saw a lot of new villains appear, but Mister Negative is the only one who really stuck. His star rose higher thanks to his major role in Insomniac Studios’ “Spider-Man” video game. Perhaps the next rung on the ladder is Mr. Li becoming a movie star?

No, I don’t mean Tom Hardy’s comical and heroic Eddie Brock/Venom here. He got his send-off in “Venom: The Last Dance,” and Sony has apparently shuttered plans for future spin-off films.

Instead now is the time to right the ship and reintroduce Venom as he should be: an enemy of Spider-Man. You might remember the “Black Suit” saga from its adaptation in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 3.” The Venom symbiote, drawn to Spider-Man’s power, bonds with him. Peter at first relishes the experience, but finds the Symbiote makes him give into his worst impulses. So, he rejects the Symbiote and then it comes back for revenge wearing a new host. Like a scorned lover, Venom wants to both destroy and possess Spider-Man.

Because Todd McFarlane’s Venom design is so cool and fans loved him, this creepy villain has been reinterpreted as an anti-hero. That’s the side of the character that the “Venom” movies leaned into, leaving the MCU room to do something different.

In the comics, Spider-Man bonded with the Venom symbiote during the “Secret Wars” event, when he and other Marvel heroes were transported to the alien Battleworld. “Avengers: Secret Wars” is on the horizon, and though currently set for a 2027 release date (i.e. after “Spider-Man 4”), that production timeline could easily shift if Marvel wants to do the proper Venom origin story.

“Spider-Man 4,” with the full title still unrevealed, is set to be released on July 31, 2026.