One actor is playing a major Spider-Man and Batman movie villain in 2026, setting up a truly exciting year for their filmography. While plenty of actors have appeared in Marvel and DC’s on-screen releases – and indeed, having experience in one franchise does seem to serve as proof you’re a prime candidate for a role in the other – actors appearing in both in one year is a far rarer occurrence for obvious reasons.
Even on a simple logistical level, this is most challenging in the world of film, as movies releasing around the same time have an unsurprising habit of often filming around the same periods, making things a practical nightmare for anyone who wants to appear in a Marvel and DC film around the same time.
That said, this isn’t an impossible feat, as is evidenced by one actor appearing as a major antagonist for Batman and Spider-Man in two of their respective upcoming movies this year. It does make things all the more interesting, though, both because of how much rarer a matter like this is, and because each of these roles is a long-term casting for the actor, raising the possibility that this occurrence may not be a one-off.
Michael Mando Has A Major DC & MCU Roles Coming Up Shortly In 2026
After initially being sidelined as the Scorpion in the MCU in Spider-Man: Homecoming onwards, Michael Mando is set to have a major return to the franchise and the big screen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with trailers already promising us a version of the villain who gets to duke it out with Spider-Man in his full impressive Scorpion suit. As it stands, though, the July 2026 movie is only part of Mando’s 2026 superhero film roster.
Batman: Knightfall Part 1‘s scheduled release in 2026 is set to bring us Mando in an even more central role that, even at its latest, can only be a few months after Brand New Day. In Knightfall, the actor will be voicing Bane in one of his biggest and most important comic stories of all time, with the iconic original narrative having introduced Bane to audiences in dramatic fashion by showing him breaking Batman’s back, leaving him defeated and out of commission for some time.
Both of these roles are promising in their own way, with Brand New Day offering a major live-action role, and Knightfall giving Mando the lead villain role in an adaptation of one of the most iconic DC moments in the franchise’s history, which add up to a pretty exciting 2026 for the actor altogether.
2026’s Superhero Movie Castings Makes Up For The MCU Wasting Michael Mando’s Role The First Time Around
Michael Mando’s time as Mac Gargan in the MCU was long a subject of some fan dismay – not because of the actor himself, but rather because Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s post-credits clearly teased more for the Scorpion and alluded to the possibility of Spider-Man’s Sinister Six teaming up in the movie world, only for this to never come to fruition. The Vulture ending up in the Sony Spider-Man Universe thanks to Morbius‘ post-credits scene seemed to confirm this would never become reality due to the complications this crafted, too, making things look all the less viable.
As such, it’s been a major and well-received twist to see the Scorpion center stage in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, even if the number of villains teased for the film suggest Gargan won’t be a central force in the movie. Similarly, getting another major role for Mando in the same year is all the better of a change around, as we now can experience two major supervillain performances from the actor in the span of one year.
Both castings also promise more follow-up appearances on the horizon. Bane is obviously also a crucial figure in the next two parts of the three-part Batman: Knightfall movie series, and the MCU’s Scorpion seems like a figure who would fit well in some capacity in later Spider-Man movies too, particularly if the MCU timeline is aiming to replicate the always crime-fighting Spidey of the comics more going forward, meaning both roles may continue on for some considerable time depending on what the future holds for Batman and Spider-Man on-screen.