Jon Bernthal is officially bringing the Punisher into Spider-Man: Brand New Day! The next installment in Tom Holland’s Spidey saga. Frank Castle is actually stepping into the Sony/Marvel Spider-Verse, and this is for real, and it’s awesome!
The film, which begins shooting this summer in England, will be directed by Shang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton and is set to hit theaters July 31, 2026.
Zendaya and Jacob Batalon are expected to return as MJ and Ned, and Stranger Things breakout Sadie Sink has joined the cast in an undisclosed role.
The story picks up after the reality-resetting events of No Way Home, where no one remembers Peter Parker is Spider-Man. That gives the narrative a clean slate, and apparently a perfect window to drop in Marvel’s most brutal antihero.
Bernthal’s take on Frank Castle was first introduced in Netflix’s Daredevil series and later spun off into The Punisher. He recently returned in Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again, and not only is he starring in Season 2—he’s also co-writing a solo Punisher special. So yeah, the man is in.
This new crossover has been years in the making, even if unintentionally. Bernthal and Tom Holland actually helped each other score their Marvel gigs while working together on the 2017 film Pilgrimage. Bernthal told Jimmy Kimmel Live:
“We did a film about seven or eight years ago. That was where both Tom did his audition for Spider-Man and I did my audition for Punisher. We actually made each other’s audition tapes on that film.”
He even had a hand in giving Holland some iconic Spider-Man flair:
“I gave him the note, ‘Tom, maybe you should run up that wall and do a double backflip and then start the scene.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, you think I should do that? That’s not too much?’ I was like, ‘I don’t think any of these other fools are able to do that,’ and he in fact did that.”
Now, after years of parallel stories, they’re finally sharing the screen in the MCU. With Peter navigating a world that doesn’t know who he is, and Castle never caring much for red tape, the dynamic between these two could be explosive.
We don’t know exactly how the Punisher will fit into Brand New Day, but I can’t wait to see how this comes together! One’s a neighborhood-friendly hero trying to stay under the radar. The other’s a walking storm of gunpowder and grief. Whatever happens, it won’t be boring.
Source: Deadline
