Credit: Inside the MagicWho will Peter Parker fight in Spider-Man 4?
Related: Peter Parker Will Be Older Than Expected in New ‘Spider-Man’ Installment
The story of young Peter Parker, a native of Queens, New York, who undergoes a transformation into the iconic Spider-Man after being bitten by a radioactive spider, is so globally recognized that the phrase “with great power comes great responsibility” has become known by almost everyone.
Marvel Comics’ legendary narrative involves a beloved ensemble of characters such as Uncle Ben, Aunt May, Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, the Green Goblin/Norman Osborn, and Doc Ock/Doctor Octopus/Otto Octavius — all set against the dynamic backdrop of New York City. The Spider-Man story has undergone numerous reinterpretations across multiple media platforms, from animated adaptations to live-action films and beyond, firmly establishing itself as a perennial classic in the realm of superhero storytelling.
New reports about the much-anticipated Marvel Studios Spider-Man 4 set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) reveal who the ultimate Big Bad of the film might be.
A Spider-Man 4 Villain Update
Related: ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man’ MJ Actress Calls Out Stalkers, Makes Online Plea
Recently, this FandomWire tweet was reposted by Hollywood insider Daniel Richtman, featuring a rumor from fellow scooper Cosmic Circus about Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man 4 reportedly featuring a villain “not adapted to live action yet”:
‘SPIDER-MAN 4’ will reportedly feature a villain that has not been adapted to live-action yet.
Who do you want to see?
(via @MyCosmicCircus)
‘SPIDER-MAN 4’ will reportedly feature a villain that has not been adapted to live-action yet.
Who do you want to see?
(via @MyCosmicCircus) pic.twitter.com/7NnVwRIQTC
— FandomWire (@FandomWire) January 19, 2024
Interestingly, Marvel Studios themselves have already laid the breadcrumbs for the next Spidey villain.
Who Will Be Spider-Man 4’s Villain?
With this information, we can narrow down who the Spider-Man 4 villain will not be through a simple process of elimination.
Seeing as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films saw Green Goblin/Norman Osborne (Willem Dafoe), Doctor Octopus/Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), Sandman/Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), New Goblin/Harry Osborn (James Franco), and Venom/Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), and The Amazing Spider-Man series saw The Lizard/Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), Electro/Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), and Rhino/Aleksei Sytsevich (Paul Giamatti) take to the silver screen, it’s easy to rule those Spider-Man baddies out.
Additionally, the Marvel Cinematic Universe saw Tom Holland’s Peter Parker face up against Vulture/Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), Shocker/Herman Schultz (Bokeem Woodbine), and Mysterio/Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal). Even the Chameleon/Dimitri Smerdyakov had a minor cameo in the MCU as Numan Acar’s Dimitri Nikolaievich Smerdyakov.
Venom (Tom Hardy), whose symbiote from the Venom (2018) franchise of movies was left behind at the end of No Way Home would also have been a decent guess for next villain — except that it’s been acted in live-action not once, but twice before by Hardy and Grace.
So who will most likely be a Spider-Man 4 antagonist who is not in this particular rogue’s gallery?
Surprisingly, several factors indicate that Ned Leeds, Peter Parker’s best friend played by Jacob Batalon, is set to become the Marvel Comics supervillain, Hobgoblin.
In the famous scene from No Way Home where Ned Leeds promises not to “turn into a supervillain and try to kill [Peter Parker]” Marvel hints to the audience in a tongue-in-cheek way that Ned could very well “turn into a supervillain” in the future. The Marvel comic book world has already met Ned Leeds as Hobgoblin, so this could very well be the prime candidate.
There might be multiple villains in the fourth MCU Spider-Man movie, however. The other Big Bad that has been heavily rumored to feature in the No Way Home sequel is none other than the Daredevil (2015) series baddie Kingpin/Wilson Fisk.
Having already been the major villain of Hawkeye (2021) and the recent Echo (2024), many factors so far indicate a “street-level” battle of epic proportions against Fisk, and team up with Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson/Captain America, Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez, and Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil.
Who do you think the new Spider-Man 4 villain will be? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!