With the exception of Bruce Wayne, few superheroes boast the same wealth of eye-catching villains as Marvel’s Spider-Man, who has come up against Venom, Electro and everyone in between since Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s Web-Head first appeared in 1962.
More than 50 years later, and the desire for new Spidey adventures is as strong as ever, and one need only look to the rip-roaring success of Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: Homecoming ($881 million worldwide) as evidence of Peter Parker’s lasting appeal.
Angled as the beginning of a whole new trilogy, one that is expected to span into 2021, Homecoming introduced Tom Holland’s zippy youngster with a real sense of confidence, which only has us all the more excited for the launch of Avengers: Infinity War (first teaser tomorrow, spread the good news!).
But thanks to one of the special features included in Homecoming‘s Blu-ray (via ComicBook.com), producer Eric Carroll has hinted at the idea of drafting Mac Gargan (AKA The Scorpion) into the fray.
Mac Gargan is one of the more iconic Spider-Man villains. What we learned by the end of the movie is that Mac’s out there. He’s alive and well, and now he’s got a bone to pick with Spider-Man.
Mysterio is another classic villain who has been tipped for Spider-Man: Homecoming 2, and screenwriter and all-around comic book expert Kevin Smith is certainly a big fan of the idea:
The character’s visually everything a comic book should be. [He] captures your imagination, and there’s some menace to [him]. Mysterio lends himself to a cinematic telling of Spider-Man because he was an effects guy. So you could do these insane grand illusions, set pieces that just don’t exist because it’s all hallucinogens and smoking mirrors.
Alas, no matter who Tom Holland’s hero comes up against, Marvel fans needn’t worry about the fate of Spidey too much, as the British up-and-comer wants to play the character for years to come, and is currently contracted to a full trilogy of Spider-Man solo movies. That means a Homecoming 3 is also on the cards, even if it won’t be with us until at least 2021.
Closer to home, and with Jon Watts and Tom Holland back on board to direct and star, respectively, the untitled Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 is expected to swing into theaters on July 5th, 2019. It’ll be the first step toward Marvel’s Phase 4, which is said to take the MCU and everything we love in a totally new direction.