Spider-Man: Brand New Day Star Teases “So Much Potential” for His Marvel Villain in MCU Future

This post contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Spider-Man: Brand New Day features an abundance of villains, many of whom are relegated to montage sequence that beautifully recreates covers from Spider-Man comics. One classic foe who has a bit more to do is Scorpion, making his long-awaited Marvel Cinematic Universe return after his debut in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Scorpion isn’t the main villain in Brand New Day, but he does cross paths with our friendly neighborhood hero on a couple of occasions (including once where he’s under the mind control of the movie’s true antagonist). The little bit of Scorpion we get in Brand New Day might leave fans wanting more, and actor Michael Mando is hoping to return at some point.

During an AMA (ask me anything) session on Reddit, Mando fielded questions about Scorpion’s future in the MCU. In particular, he highlighted Scorpion’s transformation into Venom as a comics storyline he hopes to tackle in a future film. “I love Mac Gargan’s rendition of Venom. It’s my favorite comic book character, so seeing his evolution into that would be a joy,” Mando said. “I believe Scorpion has so much potential, many levels to explore as well as a rich backstory. Lots to be excited about.”

In response to another query, Mando said, “What we saw in Brand New Day is level 1. He has at least 2 more levels. As well as a potentially tragic backstory of a good detective who descends into madness.” He also said Scorpion is the character of his that has “the most potential left unexplored” on screen, reiterating his love for Mac Gargan’s tragic arc.

Will Scorpion Become Venom in the MCU?

In the comics, Mac Gargan worked as a detective before he became Scorpion. J. Jonah Jameson hired him to discover how Peter Parker always got great pictures of Spider-Man in action. Mac Gargan’s portrayal in the MCU has been a bit different to this point. In Homecoming, it’s established he’s a long-time criminal with a lengthy record, and there’s no reference to a possible past as a private investigator. If the MCU were to run with the detective backstory, it would be a retcon, but one that could work if handled properly. Mando specifically mentions wanting to portray Gargan as “a good detective who descends into madness,” so perhaps he was a detective long before the events of Homecoming before something caused him to snap.

Mac Gargan hasn’t been fully fleshed out in the MCU yet, so Spider-Man 5 or another future film could elaborate on his backstory, using a prologue sequence or flashbacks to show how he turned to the criminal lifestyle. It’s clear from his responses that Mando has put a lot of thought into what he’d like to do with the role of Mac Gargan, and hopefully he gets a chance to see it through. He’s a very talented actor who’s made an impression on viewers in projects like Better Call Saul. It would be great to see what he could do with a more substantial role in a Marvel movie, especially if he has an opportunity to bring Scorpion’s Venom to life.

Whether or not the Venom angle happens in the MCU remains to be seen. It’s something fans would like to see, but Tom Holland has pointed out potential issues with depicting the symbiote on screen. He doesn’t see a way to make the symbiote suit work “without having a CG component.” Obviously, big-budget blockbusters like Brand New Day make extensive use of CGI and visual effects, but one of the reasons Brand New Day is so successful is because it fully embraces Spider-Man’s roots as a street-level hero, boasting a far more tactile aesthetic than the trilogy helmed by Jon Watts (including the new practical Spider-Man costume for Holland). Seeing how enthusiastically audiences responded to this different approach, Holland probably wants to keep that intact for the next installment — especially if Destin Daniel Cretton returns to direct. That could mean Spider-Man 5 goes in a different direction, leaving Venom on the shelf.

That said, if Marvel can find a way to make the symbiote work while still retaining most of Brand New Day‘s groundedness, they should consider the Venom angle for Spider-Man 5. Even if Peter doesn’t encounter a symbiote during Avengers: Secret Wars (as he did in the comics), there’s still the bit of Eddie Brock’s symbiote that’s still hanging around in the main MCU timeline. Turning Scorpion into Venom would payoff the post-credits scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home. That symbiote, which seemingly has some animosity towards Peter (recall Venom’s reaction to seeing the news report about Peter in Let There Be Carnage), so it would be drawn to someone with an intense hatred of Spider-Man.

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