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Whip up a new batch of tin-foil hats, Popverse readers, we've got some speculating to do. This time, we're focused on the upcoming MCU movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which sees Tom Holland return as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. So far, there's no official word on who the film's villain will be, but a recent report coming from the movie's set makes us believe that at least one familiar rogue will be popping up in the MCU's fourth Spider-Man film.

With a gentle reminder that we are indeed speculating and that Marvel has not officially confirmed any villain for the film (although we do know that the Scorpion will appear at some point), let's talk about why movie's baddies might be Aleksei Sytsevich, AKA The Rhino.

We first got wise to the theory after reading a report published on GlasgowWorld, a local online news source for the city in which Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently being filmed. The writer, a Glasgow resident called Paul Trainer, details a tour he took through the Bothwell Street set, which he says "has been transformed into Lower Manhattan." However, it's not the simulacra of tall buildings that we'd draw your attention to, but the vehicles on the street.

"Further along," Trainer writes of his time on set, "My wee boy spotted a flatbed trailer that had a mock-up of the top half of the tank. In front of it was another film prop that was covered. The outline looked like the head of an animal. When filming resumed there was a section where the tank is being pursued by another custom made vehicle. It had the same shaped prop at the front of it. It was the shape of a rhino’s head."

To call this an actual villain sighting would perhaps be a bit of a stretch, but there are a few things worth noting here. First, the fact that rhino-themed vehicles are appearing in Spider-Man movie feels like more than just a coincidence, and second, the fact that the crew was trying to cover them up makes it seem even more like a plot reveal that the filmmakers are trying to keep secret. To go even further into conspiracy land, one could conceivably wonder if this set piece wasn't a rhino vehicle at all, but a placeholder for the (presumably CGI) character himself.

Whether or not Mr. Trainer's eagle-eyed kid did in fact spot a giant spoiler, Rhino's inclusion in the film would be a breath of fresh air for the character. The Rhino has already appeared twice on the big screen - first in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and second in (gulp) Kraven the Hunter - and both iterations were widely hated by fans of the rogue. An Aleksei MCU debut could mean a Brand New Day not just for Spider-Man, but for his horniest of villains.

Er, wait.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day comes to theaters July 31, 2026. 

Marvel's most reliable superhero has proven he can do a whole lot more than just 'whatever a spider can.' Swing into Spidey's history with Popverse's 10 best Spider-Man comic books, our Spider-Man movie watch order, and if you want our opinions on the subject, read our articles ranking Spider-Man's actors and Spider-Man's girlfriends.