Spider-Man: Brand New Day Kicks Off Filming Soon, And As A Walking Dead Fan, I Hope This Fancasting Pays Off In Real Life (2025)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly releasing new content, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. One of the most hotly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies is definitely Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which will bring Tom Holland's title character back to the shared universe. There's some fan casting swirling around online, and as a Walking Dead fan I hope one actually comes true.

What we know about Spider-Man: Brand New Day is limited, but the recently revealed title is an exciting step forward. Fans are wondering who might be joining Tom Holland in the project, including chatter about Sadie Sink having a role. Some fans on Reddit notice the director was following Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun on Instagram, and think he'd be a great choice to bring Mister Negative to life on the big screen. And I am personally completely sold on this casting.

Yeun was a fan favorite on The Walking Dead before Glen's infamous death, and has taken a variety of exciting projects in the years that have followed. That includes his Emmy-winning performance in Beef, as well as movies like Jordan Peele's Nope. And after voicing the title character in Invincible (streaming with an Amazon Prime subscription), it seems like the perfect time to give him a live-action superhero role.

Mister Negative is a Spider-Man villain who has had less time on the page, debuting back in 2007. His Darkforce abilities give him a variety of powers, and is a primary foe of the wall crawler. He's perhaps best known for being the primary villain of Sony's Spider-Man video game, as well as his appearance in the sequel. Ever since these games became so wildly successful, fans have been wondering when the character might make the leap to live-action.

Of course, Destin Daniel Cretton is following on social media isn't any real indication as to what villains he's planning on including in the fourth Spider-Man movie. But fans spent years watching the Marvel movies in order, and are emotionally invested in the fan favorite character. So the theories, rumors, and fan castings will likely continue until some official announcements occur.

Yeun is clearly a wildly talented actor, but as someone who was a Walking Dead superfan during the flagship series' run on AMC, I'm ready to see him kicking ass on the screen again. He did a ton of actions dispatching zombies as Glenn, and watching him go toe to toe with Tom Holland's Peter Parker sounds thrilling.

Moviegoers are curious about what comes next for Holland's hero after Spider-Man: No Way Home's ending, which saw him erased from the memories of anyone who knew him. Brand New Day is currently expected to arrive in theaters on July 31st, 2026, so I'm not expecting any footage coming with the 2025 movie releases.