Spider-Man: Brand New Day Nearly Featured a Different Identity-Swapping Villain Before Sony's Kraven the Hunter Got in the Way
Spider-Man: Brand New Day almost introduced a very different identity-swapping villain to the MCU than the one it ended up going with.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day almost featured a mind-control villain named Chameleon before ultimately deciding on Jean Grey as the main antagonist. Screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers initially explored the idea of metamorphosis as the story's core concept. However, they struggled to find a suitable villain for the theme of metamorphosis.
They considered a mysterious bomber but ultimately settled on Chameleon, a classic Spider-Man villain known for his ability to impersonate others. The screenwriters acknowledged that the MCU had previously explored shapeshifting Skrulls, so Chameleon would need to be adapted to avoid similar storylines. Unfortunately, Chameleon's appearance in the film was cut, as he later appeared in Sony's 2024 movie, Kraven the Hunter.
The final villain of Spider-Man: Brand New Day turned out to be Jean Grey, played by Sadie Sink, which led to the movie's success, breaking records in its opening weekend and becoming the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie to date.
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