I’m Afraid These 4 Spider-Man Characters Will Never Appear in the MCU, Especially After Brand New Day

The journey of the MCU’s Peter Parker to this point has been quite different from what we’re used to. They’ve done things like forgoing the origin story seen several times over and not giving us a Spider-Man story where he isn’t helped in a major way by members of the Avengers until Spider-Man: Brand New Day, his fourth solo outing. The wild box office success of that film means there’s going to be a fifth installment at some point down the line. With so many stories told to date, it’s becoming clearer that there are certain characters from the comics who we’ll likely never see in a Tom Holland-led Spider-Man film. It could be because it’s a villain who has already appeared on the big screen, someone who doesn’t fit with the current world around Peter, or even a love interest who doesn’t make much sense in the MCU.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day was a good chance to restart this world and introduce several of these characters. Instead, it opted to bring in Jean Grey as well as MCU stalwarts like Bruce Banner and Yelena Belova. That makes it more likely than ever that we won’t see these characters in the MCU.

4) Harry Osborn

The story of Peter Parker is typically associated with Harry Osborn. The Tobey Maguire trilogy featured him, as did the Andrew Garfirled duology. Harry is also prominent in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Insomniac’s Spider-Man video games. Traditionally, Harry is Peter’s best friend from childhood and is an ex-boyfriend of Mary Jane. The fact that Harry hasn’t even been mentioned yet makes it pretty clear that he’ll likely never appear. Bringing in an “old friend” Harry who hasn’t been discussed or seen with Peter this late into the story would feel awkward and forced.

On top of that, the MCU has kind of already confirmed that Harry isn’t around. When Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn appears, he says that Oscorp doesn’t exist. This is also a story that the MCU doesn’t need to tell. While Harry’s descent into becoming the Green Goblin is captivating, the fact that it has been done so often in media makes it unlikely, similar to the MCU deciding against showing Uncle Ben’s death.

3) Hobgoblin

The more famous goblin in Spider-Man lore is certainly the Green Goblin, but Hobgoblin is still rather important. For a long time, the true identity of the villain was unknown, as he often used brainwashed body doubles to carry out his plans. It was eventually revealed to be Ned Leeds (though the original plan was meant to be Mary Jane’s former boss, Roderick Kingsley). The MCU even hinted at Ned becoming a villain in Spider-Man: No Way Home, yet that doesn’t feel all that likely anymore.

The reveal that Ned has magical abilities like a sorcerer opened the door for him to be something more than Peter’s human friend. There was a chance to explore that in Spider-Man: Brand New Day since Ned no longer remembered Peter. He could’ve gone down a darker path without Peter, yet the film shows that he’s still largely the same good guy he always has been. Changing that to bring in Hobgoblin doesn’t seem like something the MCU will do.

2) Venom/Eddie Brock

Technically, Eddie Brock has already appeared in the MCU, though it was only through a short cameo at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. That post-credits scene saw Eddie get sent back to his universe, while a piece of the symbiote stayed behind. That seemed to suggest the next major Spider-Man story would feature that, yet it didn’t happen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. There’s still a chance it could be the focus of a future film, yet it doesn’t seem the MCU is going down that route.

If they wanted to tell a symbiote story, they had the opportunity and let it pass. Eddie Brock is the most famous host for Venom, and he meets Peter through his work as a journalist. However, the MCU doesn’t have Peter working at the Daily Bugle, which means their meeting is unlikely. Tom Hardy’s Eddie/Venom is also already established in recent popular films, so the MCU may avoid this.

1) Gwen Stacy

For a long time, Gwen Stacy was like Uncle Ben as a character who died and remained dead, which is rare for comics. Of course, Gwen was eventually brought back several times and has become wildly popular, especially as Spider-Woman and in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse franchise. The chance to bring her into the MCU was ripe heading into Spider-Man: Brand New Day. With MJ not remembering who Peter is, it would’ve made sense that he caught the eye of another suitor, as Gwen started out in comics as Peter’s girlfriend.

The MCU didn’t go that route, and the film left the door open for MJ to remember Peter, so bringing in a Gwen as a romantic interest feels off. They could introduce Gwen as a superhero, similar to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, though the multiverse era of the MCU seems like it’ll end before another solo Spidey film. If Gwen ever does pop up in the franchise, it would likely be if Miles Morales is ever brought into the fold. With the current state of the MCU, it’s tough to see Gwen coming into the mix.