Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s Secret Ultimate Villain Breaks Silence On Their MCU Debut

The real Spider-Man: Brand New Day villain breaks their silence.

One of the biggest questions heading into the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie was whether Sadie Sink's mysterious character or someone else would be the overarching villain. Instead of Jean Grey (Sink) or the enemies Spider-Man (Tom Holland) fights in the streets of New York City, the real antagonist ends up being Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman), who is the director of the Department of Damage Control.

In an interview with GQ, Tillman is now able to speak about his character and what it means for both Brand New Day and the wider MCU. The Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor reveals how he first heard about the role, accepting it despite receiving limited information, and discusses the conversations he had with director Destin Daniel Cretton and writer Justin Kuritzkes about Metzger's motivations. Check out Tillman's comments below:

I was in LA and it was right around Memorial Day Weekend, and I got a call from my team asking if I wanted to do a Marvel movie. That was something that had been on my list for a while. So they set up a meeting with Destin, and I’m pretty sure I had to sign NDAs even before that conversation happened. It was a little frustrating, because everything was shrouded in secrecy. So I wasn’t even sure specifically how the character would fit into the world of the movie, and I’m pretty sure they had to play their cards very close to the chest because they weren’t sure if I was going to accept it. So we’re kind of playing this back-and-forth game where I’m asking Destin, “Well, what can you tell me?” And Destin would say, “It’s this and that, but I can’t say anything more than that.” But he told me it was a pivotal role, and that’s about it. So this was a leap of faith. Do I want to jump at this opportunity or do I want to hold off and wait for another potential opportunity from Marvel? I’m glad that I said yes to him. We had a lot of conversations, me, him, and Justin [Kuritzkes], the writer I worked with primarily, about fleshing out this guy and understanding who he’d be in the movie. The description we landed on was that he’s a corporate guy but also a bit of a politician. And that gave me a lot to feed on and break ground on the role.

My question for Justin was how much of his identity or motives would be present in the film? And as the script came together I realized they’re all played very close to the chest. The audience doesn’t know what his personal motivations are, which is fun to play. But we know the facts. Damage Control has been struck multiple times. He’s the director and he’s in charge of keeping his employees safe, the city safe, and the world safe. So now there’s this threat [Jean] that’s out there, and from there I locked in on that intention, of keeping everyone safe.

When asked about whether Metzger sees himself as the villain, Tillman emphasizes that as an actor, it is more important for him to understand what the character is after and see the situation with Jean through his eyes.

I had to stay away from what this guy is and what he isn’t. For me what’s more important is what’s he after? I had this colorful conversation with Destin during some reshoots. He says, “Your character is hurting people.” And I said, “My character is stopping someone from hurting people.” Jean Grey and the powers she has, that’s not a small threat. The field of control she creates at the end of the movie, that’s terrifying.

Metzger is originally from Marvel's X-Men comics, where he is also staunchly anti-mutant. His conflict with Jean in Brand New Day helps to further introduce the MCU's versions of mutants, and likely the upcoming X-Men movie as well. The film is directed by Jake Schreier, and Samara Weaving and Kit Conner have reportedly been cast in the respective roles of Emma Frost and Cyclops/Scott Summers, along with Sink returning to play Jean.

While Metzger's plans regarding Jean are defeated, he is at large after the ending of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This opens the door for him to potentially return in the X-Men movie or in another project connected to making mutants a more prominent part of the MCU. Especially on the human and anti-mutant side of things, he is poised to continue being an integral character, especially after his history with Jean and her sister.

Another avenue for a return is in potential Spider-Man 5. The sequel has not been officially announced yet, but it seems all but guaranteed to happen after the record-breaking box office success of Brand New Day, which has grossed more than $1.7 billion worldwide and more than $700 million domestically as of this writing.

Metzger now has motivation to retaliate against Spider-Man. While he probably wouldn't return as the main villain again, he could be a supporting antagonist, which there was no shortage of in Brand New Day.

Outside his MCU role, Tillman is known for playing Mr. Seth Milchick in Apple TV's hit science-fiction series Severance. He won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his season 2 performance. Other credits include Captain Bledsoe in Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, Bobby Robinson in MGM+'s Godfather of Harlem, and Detective Sommers in Prime Video's Hunters.

The Spider-Man: Brand New Day star is reprising the role of Mr. Milchick in Severance season 3 and can be seen later this year as the Ghost of Christmas Present in Ebenezer and in a role that remains under wraps for the thriller film Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother.