Summary
WhileAvengers: Doomsdayis undoubtedly the Marvel film filling the fandom with equal amounts of excitement and dread, it isn’t the next MCU film coming down the pipeline. That would beSpider-Man: Brand New Day,and it is putting together an extensive cast list of its own.
Tom Holland’sSpider-Manhasn’t been seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2021’sSpider-Man: No Way Home. As such, Spidey fans around the globe are eagerly awaiting the webhead’s return to the big screen next year. Holland won’t be the only familiar face to return to the MCU in the film.Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsdirector Destin Daniel Cretton is helming the film, and he hasa veritable treasure trove of Marvel actorsto work with. Holland will unsurprisingly be joined bySpider-Manmainstays Zendaya and Jacob Batalon as Michelle Jones-Watson and Ned Leeds, respectively. The trio will share the screen with Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk as well, givingBrand New Daya heavy dose of additional star power. Most interestingly, however, is the return of Michael Mando’s Mac Gargan, AKA the Scorpion.
Michael Mandofirst appeared in the MCU as Mac Garganway back in 2017’sSpider-Man: Homecomingand hasn’t been seen since. News broke earlier this week that he’d be coming back to torment Spider-Man again, and the actor took to Instagram on Sunday to highlight his long-awaited return to the Marvel franchise. With a simple caption of “st!ng #spiderman” and a selfie showing off the fake scorpion neck tattoo he sported inSpider-Man: Homecomingall those years ago, Mando added to the considerable hype surroundingBrand New Day. All in a day’s work for the Scorpion.
Michael Mando Gave A Tease Of The Scorpion’s Return InSpider-Man: Brand New DayOn Instagram
“Sting,” indeed, Mr. Mando.
MCU fans have beenwaiting for Mando’s Gargan to returnsince his mid-credits scene with Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes/Vulture inSpider-Man: Homecoming. That scene featured Gargan confronting Toomes about the identity of Spider-Man, as he’s heard that Toomes knows who is behind the Spidey mask. Toomes refuses to share the privileged information, but the scene had Marvel fans hoping for a Sinister Six sighting somewhere down the line in the MCU. While Scorpio isn’t a founding member of the Spider-Man supervillain team like Vulture is, he has been a part of various incarnations over the years.
This never came to pass as Marvel Studios retrofittedtheir version of MysterioinSpider-Man: Far From Hometo be more of a Tony Stark villain and less of a Spider-Man baddie. Weirdly enough,Spider-Man: No Way Homefeatured a “Sinister Five” of sorts, bringing back Spider-Man villains from past Sony films like Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus alongside Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Peter Parker.
Nevertheless, fans of Mando’s work inFar Cry,Better Call Saul,Orphan Black, and, yes,Spider-Man: Homecomingwill be excited to see him make a triumphant comeback to the MCU.
Spider-Man: Brand New Dayis set to hit theaters worldwide on July 20, 2025.
