Spider-Man Rumor Spells MAJOR Trouble For Tom Holland's Peter Parker
Peter Parker might be squaring up against a major foe if a "Spider-Man" rumor is to be believed.
After "No Way Home" graced cinemas in 2021, things have been relatively quiet for everyone's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. While the "Home" trilogy is over, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is continuing to pump out a number of interesting films and series, expanding the already behemoth franchise. And as great as "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and "She-Hulk" have been for Kevin Feige's toybox, it's clear that the franchise has been losing steam as signaled by declining box office receipts and general fan reception.
While it's almost impossible to know if another "Spider-Man" film will help propel Marvel to the top of the food chain once again, it's clear that fans want more. After all, "No Way Home" grossed nearly $2 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic and has casually emerged as one of the most beloved "Spider-Man" entries of all time. Seeing as the film ends on a bittersweet but optimistic note, it's obvious that it's setting up an entirely new batch of films, with Tom Holland as a more assured, mature, and scrappy Peter Parker.
Concrete plot details on what's next for the MCU's Spider-Man are under wraps. And seeing as production on a new film hasn't even been announced, it's fair to say that we won't be seeing Peter Parker swing onto the big screen for quite some time. However, there are rumors floating about who the webhead could be squaring up against in his next film. Hollywood insider MyTimeToShineHello says that Scorpion (Michael Mando) is set to return. While it remains to be seen if this rumor actually manifests, it would be interesting to see the character return to the MCU, especially after they made it clear that they have beef against Spider-Man.
How could the Scorpion return?
While "Spider-Man: Homecoming" was mostly focused on the Vulture (Micheal Keaton) and his war with Spider-Man, the film also introduced a number of other villains, including Shocker (Logan Marshall-Green), Aaron Davis/Prowler (Donald Glover) and Mac Gargan/Scorpion (Michael Mando). Unfortunately, the Jon Watts-directed film didn't really do much with these villains, but they existed nonetheless, ready to be used for future projects.
During the film's mid-credits scene, Gargan, who is destined to become the Scorpion, confronts the Vulture in jail regarding Spider-Man's identity. Lucky for Peter Parker, the Vulture keeps Spider-Man's identity close to his chest, much to the chagrin of the Scorpion. The obvious intention here was to set up the Scorpion as a big bad that Spider-Man would have to face in a future entry. Of course... that never happened, as "Far From Home" saw Parker square up against Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). And with "No Way Home," a number of legacy villains from previous "Spider-Man" films were brought on board.
It should be noted that MyTimeToShineHello doesn't explicitly say that the Scorpion will return in a "Spider-Man" movie, opening up the possibility of Mando appearing as the character in a different Marvel project. But then again, it seems moot to have one of the webhead's most iconic villains pop up in a project without them.
Seeing as this is just a rumor, it's best to take the return of Mando's Scorpion with a huge grain of salt. However, it does seem like a smart idea to bring the character back, especially for another Tom Holland-led film. With so much time between "Homecoming" and whatever the next Spidey flick is, Scorpion will have had time to build up his hatred and animosity for the webhead, making his return all the more nefarious.
What we know about Spider-Man 4
Only time will tell if Scorpion actually shows up in a future Marvel or "Spider-Man-related project. For what it's worth, Michael Mando has always been interested in reprising his role as Mac Gargan/Scorpion. During a conversation with Screen Rant in 2020, the actor discussed his interest in wanting to headline his own film as the character. "I think that would be fascinating – a detective who goes rogue," the actor said. "I think it's a very, very rich character; it's a dark character," Mando added. Seeing as Kraven, Venom, and Morbius have gotten their own films (albeit outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe), it's not out of the realm of possibility to suggest a potential Scorpion film.
Ultimately, the best course of action would be to have Scorpion, with his full might, go up against Tom Holland's Peter Parker in a future "Spider-Man" film. While there are no concrete details about what's next, Marvel boss Kevin Feige is determined to continue Spider-Man's legacy in the MCU. "[Sony producer] Amy [Pascal] and I and Disney and Sony are talking about — yes, we're actively beginning to develop where the story heads next," Feige candidly told The New York Times following the release of "No Way Home."
Development on the next "Spider-Man" film, however, has stalled due to the ongoing WGA strike. In June of 2023, Holland opened up to Variety about how initial discussions were put on pause because of the strike. "I can't talk about that, but I can say that we have been having meetings. We've put the meetings on pause in solidarity with the writers," the Peter Parker actor said, adding that conversations are in "very, very early stages."
For now, audiences simply have to wait and see what the future has in store for Mando's Scorpion and Holland's Parker.