Two established supervillains will shockingly return in Spider-Man 4, reports say

Rumors have been going rampant about Spider-Man 4 in the last couple of weeks. From originally claiming it would be a street-level movie with Daredevil to now stating it's a multiversal adventure with Knull, Venom, and lots of symbiotes. Nobody seems to be on the same page about what will happen in Tom Holland's next stand-alone film. So let's add a bit to the confusion by breaking down a new (and quite perplexing) report.

The Green Goblin and Vulture will return in Spider-Man 4

As reported by scooper MyTimeToShineHello, Michael Keaton will return as the Vulture in Spider-Man 4. If that were the case, it would mark the third time the supervillain has appeared in an MCU/SSU movie. He debuted in the highly acclaimed Spider-Man: Homecoming, where a future team-up with Mac Gargan was teased. That appearance was followed up by the post-credits scene in Morbius in which he randomly showed up in Michael Morbius' universe out of nowhere (a plot hole fans had to take upon themselves to explain). So it's clear Sony intends to use his character in future projects.

Furthermore, insider Marvel News revealed Willem Dafoe will play "a new variant" of the Green Goblin in Spider-Man 4. That would be a very interesting move, to say the least. Especially considering he was the main villain of the latest wall-crawler movie. That means audiences would watch him wreak havoc two times in a row... just, as a different version of the same character. Yeah, the multiverse can be complicated.

It's undeniable The Green Goblin is one of Peter Parker's greatest enemies (if not the greatest). However, he's the only villain to have appeared in all three live-action sagas. Dane DeHaan took on the mantle in the ill-fated The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Furthermore, Willem Dafoe gave life to Norman Osborn on Tobey and Tom's franchises. With that in mind, we have to question how much better would it be to see him return as the main antagonist for a fourth movie rather than watching someone new steal the spotlight. After all, Spider-Man has an amazing rogues' gallery, many of which we'd like to see next.

Speaking of giving the opportunity to new characters, both reports we've discussed mention one thing in common: other villains would also show up in Spider-Man 4. We could even see the Sinister Six (finally) form on the big screen, and there are hints about who else could join the roster.

New villains, like Mister Negative, can be added to the mix

Marvel News also reported Mister Negative could make his live-action debut in the wall-crawler's next stand-alone adventure. Martin Li is a relatively new character in comic book pages considering he was created in 2007. Since then, he's taken the spotlight in multiple stories, including Insomniac Games' highly-acclaimed title: Marvel's Spider-Man for PS4.

During the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Aunt May works in the non-profit charity named F.E.A.S.T. Mr. Negative (or rather, his counterpart Mr. Positive) is usually associated with the organization. So it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for him to be presented as someone who knew Aunt May and could soon cross paths with Peter Parker. But what about the other members of the Sinister Six? Who could they be?

An obvious pick is Mac Gargan. After all, he was positioned to become The Scorpion after the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming. Eddie Brock could also be added to the mix since it's been heavily reported he'll cross over to the MCU by the end of Venom: The Last Dance. Speaking of multiversal shenanigans, maybe Kraven The Hunter and Morbius could be the other two missing villains to join the team, bringing the Sinister Six to life.

Curiously enough, these latest reports seem to contradict the idea that Spider-Man 4 will feature the return of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's Peter Parkers to fight Knull and his army of symbiotes. Or perhaps Sony is attempting to tell all these stories simultaneously, which could spell a lot of trouble. So let's hope Venom: The Last Dance gives us a better insight into what the future will look like for all these Spider-Man characters.

Would you like to see Michael Keaton's Vulture and Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin return in Spider-Man 4? Let us know on our social media pages! And stick around with Whatever A Spider Can for everything Spider-Man-related.