As Spider-Man: Brand New Day enters its second weekend, one of its actors is glad to be back in action.
Michael Mando first entered the MCU as Mac Gargan in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Despite a post-credits scene teeing him up, it wasn’t until this new movie that Gargan returned, now working as the supervillain Scorpion. For anyone thinking it was about time, Mando told the Hollywood Reporter it was something he tried to put out of his head. While he was busy playing Nacho in Better Call Saul, he “didn’t try to predict my destiny in any way. I trusted that things will come around when they do, if they do.”
In Mando’s words, he had two creative meetings about Scorpion’s returning in Brand New Day, and met director Daniel Destin Cretton at the second. Within minutes of talking about the character, he understood Cretton as a “real visionary” and wanted to work with him. Cagey about their conversations, Mando instead talked up his clash with Spider-Man while being controlled by Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey. To him, that fight’s about “seeing Peter lose his hero status,” and ends with a victory for Gargan.
“You know you’ve got to convincingly lose the fight, but psychologically win the battle. As an actor, that was such an interesting tightrope to maneuver,” said Mando. That Gargan was Jean’s puppet let him form a connection between his and Sadie Sink’s characters. “I’ve always imagined Mac has gone through a deep tragedy and sees [Damage Control] as corrupt. He and Jean have a lot in common, and it was interesting to find the nuances of their inner worlds.”
Absent from the rest of Brand New Day after Peter beats him, Gargan has “enormous potential growth,” teased Mando. This film is just “level one” for his character, and he specifically brought up his “ultimate form” being Venom. He’s not saying any more than that, but like Tom Holland, he seems to be aware of Sony and Marvel’s future plans and is definitely here for it.
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