Web-Slinger Meets Skull-Crusher: Jon Bernthal’s Punisher Joins Tom Holland’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”
The Punisher is ready to make his big-screen debut.
Jon Bernthal’s lethal vigilante will be making his grand entrance into the MCU after a long stint on the small screen when he punches his way into Tom Holland’s 4th Spidey movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, from director Destin Daniel Cretton. Bernthal’s run as the rough, ruthless Frank Castle began on Netflix when he appeared in the original Daredevil series, followed by his own show on the streamer. Bernthal reprised the character for Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again, which brought the odd couple back to the streets of New York, now run by their sworn enemy, Mayor William Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio).
Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s script is being tightly wrapped in spiderwebs, with rumors flying around about potential villains and major cameos. Officially adding Bernthal’s antihero finally gives us a bit more information—we’ve already known that Zendaya’s MJ and Jacob Batalon’s Ned would be reprising their roles—and the addition of new cast member Sadie Sink has led many MCU speculators to opine that she’s set to play the iconic X-Men character Jean Grey, previously played by Sophie Turner and Famke Janssen. This could make a lot of sense as the outlines of the larger MCU start to take shape. We know that previous X-Men performers from Janssen’s era are joining the MCU for Avengers: Doomsday—Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, Alan Cumming, Kelsey Grammer, and Ian McKellen. Doomsday arrives in theaters before Spider-Man: Brand New Day on May 1, 2026, and will have direct implications over what Cretton and his team have cooked up for Spidey, whoever Sink is playing.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be true to its title, given that the last installment, No Way Home, ended with Spider-Man and friends having successfully erased the world’s memory of the fact that he was, indeed, Peter Parker. This also meant erasing MJ’s memory of being in love with him, resetting their relationship to square one—he’s a stranger to her. Ouch.
Bernthal’s Frank Castle gives Brand New Day a level of grit and dark grandeur that the franchise hasn’t had in its illustrious, critically and commercially acclaimed run during Holland’s tenure. Although we know the Punisher will be but one of quite a few big-name characters who will be mixing it up with Spidey in the film.
During CinemaCon, Holland sent along a video to tease his fourth turn as Peter Parker.
“I am so sorry I can’t be with you. I am halfway around the world shooting a movie,” said Holland, who was filming with his longtime co-star Zendaya, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, and more for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. “I know we left you with a massive cliff hanger at the end of No Way Home, so Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a fresh start. It is exactly that. That’s all I can say.”
“I’m spending my time exploring the next stage of this amazing character with a team of the most incredible artists in the world,” Cretton said at CinemaCon. “We’re all just daily nerding out over the suit, how to swing, how to create an event, an emotional story, and a ride that we haven’t really seen before.”
Brand New Day is set to hit theaters on July 31, 2026, with production beginning this summer.
For more on all things Spider-Man, check out these stories:
“Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse” Swinging Into Theaters in 2027
Swing Time: Tom Holland Says “Spider-Man 4” to Start Filming Next Summer
Featured image: Frank Castle/The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) in Marvel Television’s DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Giovanni Rufino. © 2025 MARVEL.
