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Going into Spider-Man: Brand New Day, you may have a few questions. Namely, just who is the villain?
After all, the movie's official synopsis has teased a "powerful villain no one can even see", which only deepens the mystery further. There's been plenty of talk about Stranger Things star Sadie Sink playing Jean Grey, but she (typically) is on the side of Spidey and co. with the X-Men.
So, what gives and who could the webhead and The Punisher be up against in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Below, we run the rule over the most likely candidates to be the movie's main villain, taking in fan theories, our own expert opinion, and other outsiders from the pages of Marvel's comics. After you dive into a possible rogues' gallery, get your Spidey-Senses tingling with our guides to upcoming Marvel movies and the Marvel timeline.
Who is Spider-Man: Brand New Day's mystery villain?
Jean Grey
Let's start with the red-haired elephant in the room. Marvel hasn't officially confirmed that Sadie Sink is playing Jean Grey, but a recent shot of a psychic blast in the latest Brand New Day trailer has eerie parallels to the mutant who would be Phoenix from animated series X-Men: Evolution.
In the trailers, we've also seen members of the public being mind-controlled by an unseen force.
Given Jean Grey's powerful psychic abilities, that certainly puts her in the frame to be the one fighting Spider-Man and pulling the strings – even if there could be more to all this than meets the eye.
Typically, Jean Grey is a foundational part of the X-Men, who haven't yet been introduced in the mainline MCU. With an X-Men movie on the way, though, it makes sense to put the building blocks together here with a tremendous show of what she's capable of – and why the public might fear her and be running scared of mutants in the near future. Is this Marvel's worst-kept secret? Possibly. But we think, if she is Brand New Day's main villain, there might be another power player lurking in the shadows. Which brings us to…
William Metzger
Not exactly a household name, William Metzger is someone who will still be well known to veteran X-Men fans.
A staunch anti-mutant campaigner, Metzger made his name as a hardline activist during the 1999-2000 Children of the Atom X-Men arc. There, he pushed ethical boundaries to further his agenda, even trying to put together an anti-mutant weapon. Ultimately, that ended in failure and led to a brutal death at the hands of Magneto.
Much like Jean Grey, we don't know if Metzger is officially in the movie, but Tramell Tillman's unnamed character has been given the name 'Bill' in multiple subtitled trailers now.
Given Tillman's starmaking rise through the ranks in Severance and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, it stands to reason that he could be the one to kick off the Mutant Saga in a meaningful way in the MCU in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Mister Negative
Jean Grey and William Metzger are two of our picks, but there have been plenty of whispers elsewhere about other Spider-Man villains coming out to play in New York.
Chief among them is Mister Negative. Those rumors started when a devilish logo was spotted during filming for Brand New Day. Fans quickly put two and two together and, at the risk of getting five, concluded that Spidey would be swinging into battle against Mr. Negative and his band of 'Inner Demons'.
First introduced during 2007's Free Comic Book Day, Mister Negative was a product of the Darkforce and Lightforce, which manifested itself as two distinct, wildly different personalities: the crime boss Mister Negative and the F.E.A.S.T founder Martin Li.
Most famously, Mister Negative was a crucial part of Insomniac's first two mainline Spider-Man titles. Since then, his momentum (and popularity) has only grown. Could that amount to an MCU appearance in Brand New Day? We'd certainly love to see it.
Jackal
Perhaps not one of Spider-Man's most famous villains, but you know his work: Jackal – real name Professor Miles Warren – proved the catalyst for the controversial 1990s storyline the Clone Saga, which saw a copy of Peter Parker brought to life.
Fans have already spotted a 'Green Jackal' Easter egg during the house party spied in the first trailer, with others speculating that Keith David (who has been heard but not seen so far in marketing) could be playing the villain.
Mister Sinister
Now, this is a little more out of left field. First introduced by legendary writer Chris Claremont in Uncanny X-Men #221, Mister Sinister has long been a thorn in the side of the X-Men, with Jean Grey often being in the supervillain's sights thanks to his belief that she could help create the ultimate mutant.
With the X-Men movie just a few years away, setting up a larger story here through Mister Sinister – is he manipulating Jean or William in some way? – would pay dividends down the line. Curiously, Jon Hamm had been set to play Mister Sinister in The New Mutants. While he's unlikely to reprise his role, the idea could still be on the minds of those calling the shots at Marvel Studios.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day thwips into cinemas on July 31, though there are early screenings planned in the US for Prime members on July 29.
For more, check out our guides to upcoming Marvel movies and the complete Marvel timeline.
