Into the Spider-Verse Tombstone voice actor is bringing his character into the live action MCU in Spider-Man 4

Picture of Marvin Jones III as Tobias Whale in Black Lightning alongside Tombstone in Spider-Man: Enter the Spider-Verse
(Image credit: CW / Sony Animation)

In what may be a first for the franchise, actor Marvin Jones III, who voices Tombstone in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, will reprise his role in live-action, joining the MCU's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, as reported by Deadline.

It's still not officially confirmed, but it's potentially the first example of an actor crossing over from the Spider-Verse films into the MCU. Actor Donald Glover previously went the other way with cameos as a live-action version of Aaron Davis, also known as the Prowler in Spider-Verse continuity, both as a civilian in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and as a briefly-glimpsed Prowler variant in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

In comics, Tombstone is a crime boss with unbreakable, stone-like skin. Like Jones, the character is also an African American man with albinism. Jones previously portrayed the villain Tobias Whale, also a crime boss, in CW's Black Lightning DC show.

It seems unlikely that Jones will be playing the same exact incarnation of Tombstone, who exists in an alt-timeline. But the casting does set an interesting precedent for how other characters might be adapted from the Spider-Verse films into live action.

Given the more gritty, grounded tone Spider-Man 4 is said to have, Tombstone would make perfect sense as an addition to the cast, which also includes Jon Bernthal's Punisher and potentially Mark Ruffalo's Hulk. Mister Negative has also been rumored as another villain.

Before Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Bernthal's Punisher made the leap to the official MCU in Daredevil: Born Again, which will bring back Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones in season 2.

In comics, Tombstone has also faced off against Luke Cage, played by Mike Colter in Netflix's Marvel shows. Though Colter has yet to be confirmed for a comeback, it would be pretty darn cool to see him square off with Jones as Tombstone, so here's hoping there's potential for that crossover at some point.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently in production for a July 31, 2026 release. In the meantime, stay up to date on all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows in the works.

George Marston

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

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