These Are the Villains Tom Holland's Spider-Man Could Face in His New Trilogy

We're a bit over a year away from the release of the untitled Spider-Man 4, and we still have no official confirmation on who will be its main villain. So far, Audiences have watched Tom Holland's Peter Parker face against the likes of the Vulture, Mysterio, Shocker, the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, and more. It's a pretty extensive list comprised of well-known and beloved characters. So with that in mind, it's impossible not to raise the question: Who else could come and put up a fight against this iteration of the wall-crawler?

Spider-Man is one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and, you know, the world in general). Sony and Marvel will definitely make more movies centered around him in the upcoming years. Now, it's just a matter of finding the right stories and antagonists for the friendly neighborhood hero to face. On the bright side, we might have gotten a peak of what the future holds in store courtesy of a report claiming that many sinister characters are on their way.

Many iconic villains are being considered for the next Spider-Man trilogy

According to superhero insider Marvel Update, there are discussions to determine who the villains that Tom Holland's Spider-Man will face in his second trilogy will be. There are many names on the table, and they are sure to make long-time fans of the wall-crawler excited:

• Black Cat
• Dr. Doom
• Hobgoblin
• Tombstone
• Venom
• Prowler
• Mr. Negative
• Scorpion
• Kingpin
• Knull

It's worth noting that we've heard multiple isolated rumors about the appearance of almost every single bad guy in the list in either Spider-Man 4 or 5. For starters, the most likely candidate for being the antagonist in the wall-crawler's next movie is The King in Black. After all, Sony Japan accidentally revealed that Venom will also have a role to play in Spider-Man 4, so it would make thematic sense for Knull to hunt him down along with the spider. Furthermore, early versions of the film's script featured a street-level storyline that included the Kingpin, Mr. Negative, Tombstone, Prowler, and even Shocker as the antagonists (Sinister Six, anyone?). While that plot seems unlikely to come true nowadays, some claim it was merely pushed back to Spider-Man 5.

On the other hand, Doctor Doom is shaping up to be the big bad in the MCU's Multiversal Phase now that Kang is out of the picture. With that in mind, there are reports stating that he'll appear in no shortage of projects including Fantastic Four: First Steps, Avengers: Doomsday, Doctor Strange 3, and—of course—Spider-Man 4. Speaking of the latter; word on the street is that Marvel and Sony are looking to cast a new female lead, fueling a lot of speculation that Black Cat could finally make her big-screen debut after failing to appear in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man saga as well as her own spin-off set in The Amazing Spider-Man universe.

The Hobgoblin seems to be the only villain on the list with no previous records of a planned appearance. However, it is also extremely likely that Marvel would consider him to face the web-slinger given that Ned Leeds is a character already established in the MCU. Besides, he forgot all about Peter's existence, meaning he could definitely charge at him with no remorse whatsoever. Meanwhile, the superpowered teenager would feel conflicted about having to fight his former best friend—a tale we've seen many times before, but that has proven to be very effective nonetheless.

On the bright side, many of the villains mentioned have yet to make their big-screen debut. Let's face it: while it has been entertaining to see the Green Goblin in three different live-action sagas now, perhaps it's time for new villains to take on the spotlight. Besides, some of Spider-Man's most iconic comic books—such as Back in Black—feature villains yet to face Spidey on the big screen such as the Kingpin. And we all know the will-they-won't-they relationship between Peter and Black Cat is a recurring theme on comic book pages as well. The MCU has missed out on telling any of these great stories so far, so fingers crossed they're really looking to rectify their mistake.