Lost star Daniel Dae Kim shares his thoughts on being a popular fan pick for the role of Mister Negative in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In an interview with Screen Rant to promote his new TV show Butterfly, Kim addressed the interest in seeing him portray the villain. While he was quick to point out that he hasn’t been in contact with Marvel about the part, he appreciates that fans are campaigning for him to play the character. It sounds like he would be up for the task if Marvel ever did come calling.
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“I heard something about that over the past six or seven months, and I saw that,” Kim said. “I’ve seen that people want other Asian actors to play him as well, so I’m happy to be included in that conversation, but I haven’t heard anything … It’s interesting. I’m always up for an interesting role and an interesting project.”
Mister Negative, aka Martin Li, is a fairly recent addition to Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery. He made his first Marvel Comics appearance in May 2007. In the source material, he is part of the Snakehead gang and gets his powers after being experimented on by the Maggia. While the character has not been adapted in a live-action film before, he has been featured in other mediums. Perhaps the most notable example is Insomniac’s Spider-Man series of video games for PlayStation.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently in production ahead of its July 2026 release date. Many details about the film are being kept under lock and key, but it has been confirmed that Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk are joining Tom Holland’s Peter Parker on his latest cinematic adventure. As for villains, it’s been revealed Michael Mando is returning as Scorpion, reprising his role from 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. It’s unknown what other antagonists will factor into the story. Fans believe the likes of Boomerang and Tarantula could appear as well.
With his connections to the criminal underworld, Mister Negative has also been an enemy of the Punisher in the comics, so his inclusion in Brand New Day would make a lot of sense. While Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s multiversal story was a clear outlier, the other Holland-starring Spider-Man movies made sure to spotlight a villain who hadn’t appeared in a live-action film before. It would be logical for Brand New Day to follow that format, especially with it looking to tell a more street-level story. Spider-Man and Punisher teaming up to take down Mister Negative’s Inner Demons gang would make for an entertaining change of pace for the franchise, depicting Peter taking on a different kind of foe. Mister Negative also has the potential to be a very compelling character to watch; Martin Li is known for his philanthropic efforts spearheading FEAST, and Mister Negative is a ruthless crime boss. That duality would be fascinating to explore.
Kim would be an excellent choice for the role, as he has the skill set to portray both the friendly and well-meaning Martin Li and the dangerous Mister Negative brilliantly. He would be an exciting addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing life to a villain who can certainly be the main focus of a feature film. It’ll be interesting to see if anything becomes of the Mister Negative rumors. There are likely more casting announcements being kept under wraps for now, so there could be a spot for the character in the film. Whether it’s Kim or someone else playing him remains to be seen; actors are known for being coy regarding their involvement in superhero blockbusters. But even if Mister Negative doesn’t appear in Brand New Day, perhaps he could be in a future film.
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Image courtesy of DC Studios -
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Image Credit: Marvel Comics
