Spider-Man 4: Beloved Breaking Bad Star Finally Set to Steal the Spotlight in the MCU
Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into 2026 with Tom Holland back in action and Jon Bernthal’s Punisher reportedly fighting at his side. It sets up a massive one-two punch, with Avengers: Doomsday crashing in right after.
File this under: things I did not expect to type today. The next Tom Holland Spider-Man movie, reportedly titled 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' might pair him with Jon Bernthal's Punisher for a street-level team-up against a very familiar MCU agency. If the whispers are right, 2026 is going to be busy in New York City.
Spider-Man and Punisher vs... the Department of Damage Control?
Per scooper Daniel Richtman, Bernthal's Frank Castle has been spotted fighting shoulder to shoulder with Holland's Peter Parker. Their targets? Agents of the Department of Damage Control. Yeah, those guys. And not because DODC woke up choosing villainy — the agents are allegedly mind-controlled while attempting to bust Scorpion out of prison.
That Scorpion is Mac Gargan, played by Michael Mando (you probably know him from Better Call Saul). If this pans out, it means Peter and Frank are throwing down with government suits who are not in control of themselves while someone else runs a jailbreak from the shadows. Who is pulling the strings remains unclear.
Quick DODC refresher
The Department of Damage Control is the cleanup crew that shows up after the superhero dust settles. In the comics, Tony Stark invested in the outfit. In the MCU, they’ve evolved into a lot more than a mop and broom — and apparently into mind-control victims if this rumor tracks.
Where Scorpion fits in
Mando's Mac Gargan first popped up in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, then reappeared in the post-credits scene, trading prison chatter with Michael Keaton's Vulture. More recently, set photos circulating online — noted by Collider — show Gargan in a prison jumpsuit stepping off a helicopter. That suggests he starts 'Brand New Day' still locked up, lines up cleanly with a DODC-related extraction attempt, and maybe grows into a bigger player as the story escalates.
Do I think he’s the main villain? Probably not. The movie also reportedly brings in Tombstone, played by Marvin Jones III, which screams 'bigger criminal ecosystem' rather than a one-baddie show.
Who else is in the mix
Alongside Holland and Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo is expected to appear as Bruce Banner. Sadie Sink has also joined in an undisclosed role — and the chatter says she’s already lined up for Avengers: Secret Wars. No character reveal yet, but that kind of cross-movie casting usually means the role matters.
The villain math that has fans buzzing
The MCU already has a few Spidey rogues in play: Keaton's Vulture is out there, Mando's Scorpion is in the wind (or about to be), and Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio is presumed dead — emphasis on presumed. Insider chatter has also teased fresh, MCU-native versions of two heavy hitters on the horizon. One tease landed like this:
'Original Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus (not Dafoe and Molina).'
Add Tombstone to that pile, and you can see why people are side-eyeing a potential Sinister Six lineup forming in the background. Big ifs, but the pieces are on the board.
Dates to circle
- Spider-Man: Homecoming — July 7, 2017
- Spider-Man: Far From Home — July 2, 2019
- Spider-Man: No Way Home — December 17, 2021
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day — July 31, 2026
- Avengers: Doomsday — December 18, 2026
Bottom line: if these reports hold, 'Brand New Day' leans hard into the gritty, boots-on-the-ground side of the MCU — Punisher and Spider-Man punching through a mind-control plot while New York’s criminal scene upgrades. Sounds messy in the best way. As always with early scoops, pencil it in and keep the eraser handy.