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Spider-Man: Brand New Day's villain is still very much a secret, Tom Holland has said, despite half a dozen foes already being glimpsed in trailers. Holland made the comment during the ongoing Spider-Man: Brand New Day press tour (via Global Box Office), adding to the sense that Marvel and Sony are still keeping key details of the film back from audiences ahead of time. Of course, there remains huge speculation over the character that Stranger Things star Sadie Sink is playing — and whether she too will be presented as an antagonist. But persistent speculation and rumor that she is playing a new MCU version of Jean Grey (and returning for Avengers: Secret Wars) all but confirms that she ultimately will not be a baddie.In contrast, Holland's comment suggests that Brand New Day's main enemy still remains under wraps, despite a rogues' gallery of other foes already being present. The villain that we have in this new movie, which is still very much a secret, is I think unlike anything we've seen in these movies before, Holland said, clearly trying his hardest not to spoil anything else. As a reminder, Spider-Man: Brand New Day features Michael Mando's returning Scorpion, Marvin Jones III as a new MCU version of Tombstone, plus Boomerang, Tarantula, Ramrod, and ninja monk organization The Hand. Then there's the rampaging Hulk to worry about, as well as the typically nefarious aims of the Department of Damage Control (DODC). Is Holland referring to one of these as Brand New Day's true villain? Not all of the above have been glimpsed in trailers (toy leaks have confirmed Tombstone, but he's been kept out of official marketing) and fans have merely speculated about the DODC's true role. Then there's Boomerang, who some fans think will be revealed as the character played by Eman Esfandi (who is also MJ's new boyfriend).Alternatively, could Holland be discussing another villain that no one expects? Questions remain about how the Venom symbiote may (or may not) pop up here, after being teased in No Way Home's post-credits scene. Or could the film secretly feature yet another villain from Spider-Man's comic book history?In April, Holland said he was still shooting Brand New Day to add “the icing on the cake in certain areas.” That included adding more humor and “layering in” a villain plotline “in a new way. “I can positively say that the stuff we’re doing, we don’t need, Holland said at the time. The movie works and sings as it is. We’re just adding the icing on the cake in certain areas. We’re finding some ways to add a little bit more humor. We’re layering in a villain plotline in a new way and some really fun stuff. How this will all fit into the film's plot remains to be seen — though we've not got long to wait now until Spider-Man: Brand New Day finally arrives on July 31. The past week has seen the ever-chatty Holland also reveal that one person still remembers Peter Parker is Spider-Man, and try to avoid spoilers when discussing his potential involvement in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars — which he suggested he would feature in.Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

The 84-year-old actor has spent decades bringing Samuel Beckett’s plays to life. Does his recent diagnosis give him new insights into playing ‘sad clown’ Krapp in a drama about age and the battlefield of memory?What a lot of Krapp. Pardon my French but Samuel Beckett’s haunting 1958 masterpiece about regret and isolation is having a moment. Stephen Rea recently took Krapp’s Last Tape on an international tour, Gary Oldman returned to the stage after decades away to deliver the tragicomic one-man show and this summer Stockard Channing will direct it at the Edinburgh fringe, with David Westhead as Krapp. Beckett’s eponymous loner, who sits in his dark den and ritually listens to tapes he made as a younger man, is riding a new wave of popularity.Peter Marinker first played Krapp half a lifetime ago and is preparing to star in a new production, reusing the tapes he recorded in 1983. How does he feel listening back now? “I thought of redoing them – it could have been better,” he says when we meet at the tiny Cockpit theatre in London. That assessment matches the spirit of the self-lacerating Krapp who looks back not just in anger but anguish. Marinker quotes Dennis Potter, who said we should consider our past with “tender contempt”. He adds wryly: “That rang a bell.” Continue reading...