It’s hard to believe, but a movie featuring Spider-Man in the lead role is flying under the radar a bit. Avengers: Doomsday is soaking up all the attention as 2026 nears, with fans waiting on bated breath for the titular team, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four to join forces for the first time on the big screen. Spider-Man: Brand New Day isn’t trying to just roll over, though, as it’s putting together a stacked cast. Mark Ruffalo is going to share scenes with Tom Holland as he reprises his role as Bruce Banner for what feels like the one hundredth time. However, he’s taking a bit of a backseat on the hype train because of the addition of an even more interesting character.
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After making his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Daredevil: Born Again, Jon Bernthal, who plays fan-favorite anti-hero Frank Castle, aka the Punisher, is preparing to drop a special on Disney+ and don the skull in a movie for the first time in Brand New Day. There’s a bit of negativity surrounding his big-screen debut because some feel another street-level hero should take his place: Daredevil. That’s a fair argument, since Matt Murdock comes to Peter Parker’s aid in Spider-Man: No Way Home. But Marvel should wait until the next Spider-Man movie to team up the titular hero with the Man Without Fear because the perfect villain is just now revealing themselves.
Daredevil Is About to Face a New Foe in Marvel Comics
Unlike the MCU, which has yet to go through a reboot, Marvel Comics has to constantly reset its continuity. It’s the only way to get new readers on board, as keeping the same story going for years or even decades makes a comic less appealing, since there’s so much to catch up on. Daredevil is getting a facelift in 2026, with Stephanie Phillips and Lee Garbett spearheading a new book that will redefine the character for a new generation. Plenty of familiar faces will be part of the action, including Kingpin, Bullseye, and Elektra. None of them is the Big Bad of the series, though; that honor goes to a newcomer, Omen.
Marvel is being tight-lipped about Omen’s identity and appearance. However, the company is willing to say that the villain has a mysterious past that somehow involves Daredevil. Rather than taking the traditional route and going after Matt directly, Omen will make sure that his target’s superhero persona is the one stuck in the corner of the ring. That sounds like a breath of fresh air, not only for Daredevil but comics as a whole. The MCU should be taking notes because Omen sounds like someone worth adapting when the time is right.
Spider-Man 5 Needs to Take Peter Parker to Unfamiliar Territory
All signs point to Brand New Day utilizing a villain that has yet to go toe-to-toe with Spider-Man on the big screen. Chamelon and Tombstone already have their spot secured, and it sounds like either Mister Negative or Silver Samurai will also make an appearance. None of those characters screams main villain, so it seems more likely that one or all of them take control of the Hulk, turning the Avenger into the film’s real threat. That story has been done time and time again in the MCU, and while it might work one final time, the powers that be should take a different approach in the future, one that doesn’t rely on what’s come before.
If Matt does indeed don the horns in Spider-Man 5, Omen should come along with him. Maybe Daredevil reaches out to his old buddy Peter because the newest threat to Hell’s Kitchen is too much for him to handle on his own. Omen can then set his sights on Spider-Man and form a new rivalry that doesn’t have a basis in the comics. It fits the direction the MCU is taking Peter in, as he’s more or less on his own and without a personal life for his adversaries to exploit.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters on July 31, 2026.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
