Spider-Man: Brand New Day Needs This Marvel Villain (And It’s Easy to See Why)

Speculation is running rampant over Spider-Man: Brand New Day as the film’s start of principal photography inches ever closer. Who, for instance, will Sadie Sink be portraying in Tom Holland’s next web-crawler adventure? For that matter, who could possibly be the villain that this incarnation of Spider-Man will contend with in his next motion picture? Spider-Man has one of the greatest rogues galleries in all of superhero media. There’s absolutely no shortage of baddies (both iconic and obscure) that he could battle during his next live-action feature.

If there’s any adversary that Brand New Day simply must bring back, though, it has to be one of Spider-Man’s oldest and most enduring comic book rivals. Though he technically already appeared in live-action thanks to Kraven the Hunter, it’s high time Chameleon got his due on the big screen.

Why Is The Chameleon So Important?

Dmitri Smerdyakov/Chameleon first appeared in March 1963’s The Amazing Spider-Man #1, which made him the first costumed super-baddie that Spider-Man ever contended with. After that, Chameleon was a prominent Spider-Man foe that made his way into plenty of media beyond comics. He was a constant go-to villain for Spider-Man TV cartoons while assorted video games (including 2023’s Spider-Man 2) have also made great use of the character. Despite this notoriety, Chameleon has never left a tremendous footprint on the silver screen.

A character named Dimitri (played by Numan Acar) did appear in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but he didn’t exhibit any traits or even hints of his Chameleon persona. Even more insultingly, an explicit version of this supervillain was a main character in the 2024 boondoggle Kraven the Hunter. The film’s closing scene even showed Smerdyakov explicitly shape-shifting like his comic book counterpart, thus teasing that he and Kraven would be rivals in an unproduced sequel. None of these features tapped into Chameleon’s exciting possibilities and even seemed downright petrified of embracing the most ludicrous aspects of a beloved supervillain.

Chameleon, just because of his tremendous comic book legacy alone, deserves a glorious big-screen incarnation as excitingly specific as the live-action movie versions of Green Goblin, Mysterio, Doctor Octopus, and even Sandman in Spider-Man 3’s first half. There’s plenty of fun to be had with a master of disguise that his previous silver screen incarnations haven’t tapped into. Plus, Chameleon’s the last super well-known classic ’60s Spider-Man foe to not terrorize the web-crawler on film in some capacity. It’d be ludicrous to leave him behind.

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Chameleon Could Give Brand New Day Some Grounded Terror

Who else is tired of Marvel Cinematic Universe foes with motivations that are either too heightened to invest in (Dar-Benn from The Marvels) or too uninvolving to be compelling (President Ross and The Leader in Brave New World)? There are versions of Chameleon that could go completely off the rails in the wrong hands. However, this character’s menacing nature could simply come from inspiring paranoia. You never know who might be the Chameleon in disguise or where he’s lurking. That more grounded sense of danger would be a wonderful departure from recent MCU norms.

Plus, Chameleon would ensure Brand New Day had a radically different threat from the heightened multiversal concerns of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Speaking of that film, No Way Home’s ending saw Peter Parker embracing a new life where he’s been forgotten by his loved ones. With his identity firmly being revamped, now could be a perfect time to incorporate a villain whose whole deal centers around a fluid identity. Beyond just providing cinematic justice for an oft-ignored comic book staple, Chameleon in Brand New Day could be the perfect next villain for Spider-Man after No Way Home’s ending.

Chameleon’s been terrorizing Spider-Man and other Marvel superheroes for decades. Sony/Marvel Studios need to make sure Chameleon’s big-screen legacy isn’t just in a nebulous Far From Home cameo and whatever was going on in Kraven the Hunter. Where Kraven was timid about embracing the qualities that make Chameleon so fun, Brand New Day could be a rip-roaring good time by revelling in all the distinctive traits that define this supervillain. Out of all the many unforgettable Spider-Man foes that have littered the comics over the years, Chameleon is easily the one Brand New Day needs to exploit most of all.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters on July 31, 2026.