Despite all odds (and losses), Sony Pictures isn’t giving up on developing its own Marvel movie universe, based around Spider-Man. That’s a major reversal on what Sony had previously been saying; after Kraven the Hunter crashed and burned at the box office, Sony started 2025 by scrapping all Spider-Man spinoffs that were still in the works. The debate about whether or not Sony is making the wisest move will likely rage in the Marvel fandom for years; however, Sony CEO Tom Rothman has made it clear that the SSU reboot is happening, and major characters are going to be recast.
The Spider-Man films and their spinoffs have cast some really famous (or up-and-coming) actors in iconic Marvel Comics character roles. So, how to do it all over again? Which new actors would you recast in major roles for the new SSU? Some of the recastings will be easy for fans – casting Stranger Things star Caleb Landry as Miles Morales is a suggestion just about every fan has had at one point. Below we have a few suggestions that aren’t in the usual fan-casting wheelhouses, but we think they’d help make a much better version of the SSU than we got before.
10. The Lizard
Curt Connors/The Lizard has made an appearance in every single iteration of the Spider-Man movie franchise. He was played by actor Dylan Baker (Happiness) in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002), and then Rhys Ifans (House of the Dragon) took over the role in Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man reboot. Connors/The Lizard is one villain that bridges the academic life of Peter Parker (one of his brilliant professors at the university) with the superhero world of Spider-Man (who battles the feral beast that is The Lizard). He’s also a great flip on the Jekyll and Hyde dynamic, and a great secondary villain.
Warren Kole is a solid supporting man, having starred in TV series like the Jennifer Lopez/Ray Liotta cop drama Shades of Blue, and currently playing distressed husband “Jeff” in Showtime’s cult-hit series Yellowjackets. Kole has shown he can play the handsome buttoned-down “normal guy” who also has a darker, tormented side. That’s all you need to play The Lizard, so he’s our pick.
9. Aunt May
Aunt May is one of the main staples of Spider-Man’s world, arguably the emotional core of it. Rosemary Harris played her in the original Spider-Man trilogy; Sally Field took on the role in The Amazing Spider-Man films, while Marissa Tomei spiced up the character for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man “Home” trilogy.
Since the films have been released, Aunt May has undergone something of a reinvention – largely thanks to Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man. That game introduced a version of Aunt May to the masses who was dynamic and spirited in her activism, running the F.E.A.S.T. non-profit charity. Spider-Man: No Way Home briefly showed Tomei’s (Hot) Aunt May working at F.E.A.S.T., but the rebooted SSU should keep with the times and depict May Parker as the kind of hip, active, sharp, educated, and compassionate elderly woman you’d find in modern NYC.
Actress Catherine Keener (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Get Out) has been actively pursuing roles again. She’d be a perfect balance of the Aunt May actresses that preceded her.
8. Electro
Max Dillon/Electro got a big screen debut in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, played by Jamie Foxx. That version of the classic Spider-Man villain was so far off the mark that Foxx returned for a more traditional take on the character in Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, none of the films have ever given fans what they arguably really want: the C-list version of Electro running around in a lightning-themed spandex costume with the ridiculous lightning bolt headpiece.
Justin Theroux has become one of the top character actors working in Hollywood today, and it doesn’t matter if the role is big or small. Theroux has shown some maniacal glee in shows like Fallout and films like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – having him play Electro as a low-rent recurring henchman or a constantly-foiled thief in this new Spider-Man universe would be a lot of fun.
7. Morbius
Morbius was the first real indicator that Sony’s Spider-Man Universe was in a precarious place. The spinoff film tried to do too much with the story of Michael Morbius, who becomes a “living vampire” after botching a cure for his rare blood disease. The movie also tried to do too much by casting actor Jared Leto (and all his method-acting eccentricities) as Morbius.
Michiel Huisman (Rebel Moon) got his big breakout through recasting: he took over the role of Daario Naharis in the later seasons of Game of Thrones. He’s tall, looks physically capable, and has the kind of frame to play Morbius, as well as charisma that would give the vampire character classic gothic sex appeal. He’s also a very solid character actor and could do a ‘brooding creature in the shadows’ very well.
6. Doctor Octopus
Doctor Otto Octavius is another tragic example of Peter Parker having an intellectual mentor turn into one of his worst foes. Otto has proven to be a brilliant mad scientist who simply cannot ignore his narcissistic/sociopathic impulses to prove his intellectual superiority. Actor Alfred Molina did such a good job creating a tragically layered and complex version of Otto in Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 (2004) that the role was never recast in live-action, and Molina was brought back for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Patton Oswald is the unofficial ambassador for all things fandom, and it’s comical that he’s only played bit roles in Marvel projects. However, the Koenig brothers in Agents of SHIELD, and Pip the Troll in Eternals, are all roles that may not have much future relevance. Oswald has grown his range as an actor and is ready for a bigger role. Playing Doc Ock as a sociopathic, egg-shaped curmudgeon would be a nice change from Molina’s portrayal; seeing a diminutive figure like Oswald standing calmly at the center of four freaky tentacle-style mechanical arms would also be quite a visual.
5. Norman Osborn
Norman Osborn is one of the main antagonists in Spider-Man’s lore. The industrialist started as a surrogate father-figure to Peter Parker, before the secret of his evil alter-ego (“The Green Goblin”) finally came to light, but only after Norman stalked and terrorized Peter, having learned his secret identity. Willem Dafoe did such a masterful job playing Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Raimi’s 2002 film that he’s been immortalized in meme form (“You know, I’m something of a scientist myself!”).
Jason Isaacs is an actor who has climbed to the top ranks of character actors who also straddle the ‘leading man’ line. Isaacs carved out a whole new career path for himself by starring in the Harry Potter films as evil wizard aristocrat/Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy; Norman Osborn is another ‘bad dad’ role Isaacs is perfect for, and fans have spent years tossing his name out for the role. The new Norman Osborn needs to be able to play in both Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Jason Isaacs has the star power to do it.
4. Gwen Stacy
Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker’s original girlfriend in Marvel Comics lore, before she was killed by Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. Gwen would return in several forms later on, with a variant of the character introduced as Ghost-Spider/Spider-Woman in the 2010s “Spider-Verse” crossover event. Raimi passed on the character in his trilogy, but Marc Webb made Gwen (Emma Stone) the center of his Amazing Spider-Man universe. Gwen has also become a much bigger mainstream star, thanks to her inclusion in the Spider-Verse animated films (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld), as well as the kid-friendly animated show Spidey and His Amazing Friends. In a rebooted SSU, there’s much more potential for the character to be a marquee name, all her own.
McKenna Grace is one of the most talented kid actors working today. She has never been shy about stepping into the darker end of things, with breakout roles in I, Tonya, The Haunting of Hill House, and Annabelle Comes Home. She’s familiar with big franchise IP based on games (Five Nights at Freddy’s 2) or older movies (Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire). She’s even had a bit role in the MCU, playing a younger version of Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel. At age 19 (at the time of writing this), Grace is stepping into her first real romantic roles, starting with the 2025 romantic dramedy Regretting You. Now is the time for her to take on a major superhero franchise role; she’s about the only one proven and qualified to pull off the arc of going from the classic Gwen Stacy to the Spider-Woman version (with her own live-action franchise).
3. Mary Jane
It’s been too easy for the Spider-Man movies to keep things centered on Peter Parker and a single love interest, but the comics have made things much more complicated than that. Mary Jane Watson has been Peter’s main love interest in the modern era, but the movies have been split between depicting her in all her Silver Age simplicity (Kirsten Dunst’s distressed damsel in Raimi’s films) or something so off-book that’s barely Mary Jane at all (Zendaya’s “MJ” in the Home trilogy).
Chloe East has been an up-and-coming actress who just got a big breakout role in Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ 2024 religious horror film, Heretic. While playing a meek Mormon missionary in that film, East nonetheless showed fire and grit that would make her a worthy Mary Jane in the new SSU. Forget the old take on the character, and no way should the rebooted franchise go anywhere near the modern arcs of MJ being the superhero “Jackpot,” or her gaining the Venom symbiote. East would be perfect for something like the recent Ultimate Spider-Man version of Mary Jane, who is a successful media PR agent and a truly supportive partner to Peter Parker. Spidey needs a Lois Lane to his Superman, and this casting could take us there.
2. Carnage
Cletus Kasady is one of the most infamous new villains in Spider-Man’s rogues gallery. First appearing in the 1990s, sadistic serial killer Kasady was a cellmate of Eddie Brock/Venom, and became the host of the Carnage symbiote, the offspring of the Venom symbiote. As Carnage, Kasady took serial killing to whole new nightmare levels, even reaching the level of a minor dark god. Even when symbiote and host split, both Kasady and Carnage have continued to be murderous scourges on the MCU. Woody Harrelson brought Carnage to life in live-action in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, but a lot of Marvel fans were not fans of that version of the character.
Walton Goggins has become one of the top character actors working in Hollywood today, and it doesn’t matter if the role is big or small. Goggins has shown some maniacal glee in shows like Justified and films like American Ultra, while his current role as “The Ghoul” in Amazon’s Fallout TV adaptation is one of his most successful. Having Goggins play Cletus Kasady/Carnage in the new SSU would be more fun than a serial killer role has any right to be.
1. Venom
Eddie Brock/Venom is one of the biggest pioneers of the Marvel “antihero.” Starting out as an evil reflection of Spider-Man, Venom’s lore has grown beyond Peter Parker and forms its own corner of the Marvel Universe. That includes all the Venom symbiote offspring (like Carnage) to different forms of symbiotes (like Anti-Venom) getting introduced, or entire crossover events like “King In Back” being centered around Eddie, Venom, and the deeper origins of the symbiote race. Tom Hardy made Venom an international star thanks to his trilogy of films, which put a buddy-comedy spin on the Eddie/Venom symbiosis connection. It was a redemptive performance after Sony and actor Topher Grace nearly ruined Venom’s chances at movie stardom.
Alan Ritchson has finally found his niche playing the massive, muscular military investigator Jack Reacher in Amazon Prime Video’s hit “dad show,” Reacher. Let’s be honest: none of the live-action films have ever depicted a comic-accurate version of Eddie/Venom. The swole, bodybuilder’s physcality was the defining visual distinction between Venom and Spider-Man on the comic book page: Let’s make sure it looks that way onscreen, too. As Reacher, Ritchson has also shown he can play an antihero who is not afraid to be a “lethal protector.” He also has comedic chops, which could make his symbiote interactions just as fun as what Hardy did with the character.