Each of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies has had a special guest star Marvel character (as if Spider-Man himself isn’t enough to get people to theaters). “Homecoming” had Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), “Far From Home” had Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and “No Way Home” had Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and previous Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield (plus a slight cameo from Charlie Cox as Daredevil).

The upcoming fourth film, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” (which just revealed its first eight-second-long teaser) is not changing the team-up formula. The movie will face the challenge of trying to match the scale of “No Way Home” but it’ll face this head-on and at worst go down swinging like Peter Parker does. It’s already been confirmed that Jon Bernthal will be appearing as the Punisher in the movie, and he’s sure to be (at best) an uneasy ally for Spider-Man. Now, the Hollywood Reporter has confirmed two other MCU characters/actors joining the movie. 

Mark Ruffalo will be appearing as Bruce Banner/the Hulk in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” Ruffalo last appeared as the Hulk in 2022 Disney+ series “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” where a blood transfusion turned Bruce’s cousin Jen Walters (Tatiana Maslany) into a new Hulk. 

But that’s not all, because the report says that Michael Mando will be reprising his role as the gangster Mac Gargan from “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” Gargan was one of Adrian Toomes’ (Michael Keaton) arms-dealing clients, but he got busted by Spidey during a sale and sent to prison. In the “Homecoming” post-credits scene, Gargan met with Toomes in prison and suggested they get revenge on Spider-Man. 

Peter better watch his back because Marvel fans know Gargan is no simple criminal; it’s his destiny to become a super-villain called the Scorpion.

Back when “Spider-Man: Homecoming” first released, I walked out of the movie thinking Mando as Scorpion was going to be the villain of the next one. The stinger seemed like clear sequel bait and the “Spider-Man” movies hadn’t used Scorpion yet. Then, “Far From Home” pivoted to Spidey fighting Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) on a European field trip. And then “No Way Home” became Crisis on Infinite Spider-Men. It seemed like Scorpion had fallen through the cracks. The new animated series “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” (which is MCU inspired but non-canon) even features Gargan (Jonathan Medina) becoming Scorpion, as if taking advantage of the movies dropping his story thread… until now. In the comics, J. Jonah Jameson is the one who funds Gargan’s transformation into the Scorpion. If they want to give J.K. Simmons a bigger part as JJJ again, there you go.

The bigger question mark is how the Hulk fits in. He and Spider-Man have been in some “Avengers” movies together, but to my memory, they’ve never even shared a word with each other. The one connection I see is that both heroes are scientists, so perhaps Peter can bond with Bruce like he previously did Tony. With where “No Way Home” left him, Peter Parker could also use a mentor like Bruce Banner who knows what it’s like to be all alone in the world.

Sadie Sink has also been cast as someone in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” — speculation about her part has ranged from a “true” Mary Jane Watson to Gwen Stacy to the X-Men’s Jean Grey to the minor hero Sarah Ehret/Jackpot. We’ll see how well “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” can hold this growing web together soon.

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is scheduled for theatrical release on July 31, 2026.