Marvel

The Punisher will be doing some punishing in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day"

By Chris Morgan | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 11:06 AM ET

The world of Tom Holland's "Spider-Man" movies is probably the lightest and brightest space within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As such, it's a little surprising the darker tendrils of Marvel have started to get into that world as well. Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, popped up in "No Way Home," and since then he has returned in "Born Again," a violent, TV-MA show on Disney+. Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, also returned in "Born Again." Now, The Punisher is scheduled to appear in the next "Spider-Man" movie, subtitled "Brand New Day."

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We don't know much of anything about the plot of "Brand New Day." It's shooting this summer, it's coming out July 21, 2026, and MJ and Ned are back. Also, Sadie Sink of "Stranger Things" fame is joining the cast in an undisclosed role.

The Punisher being in a "Spider-Man" movie is interesting, to say the least. His sobriquet is literally The Punisher. The character is a violent vigilante through and through.

Notably, during the swirling chaos that was getting "Daredevil: Born Again" to the screen, Bernthal insisted upon Castle not losing his violent, hard-R edge just because the character was coming to Disney+. Spoiler alert: "Brand New Day" isn't going to be hard-R, and Punisher-style violence would definitely not fit in alongside Peter Parker.

It's entirely possible that Bernthal considers things on a case-by-case basis and while he didn't want "Born Again" to have its edges sanded down, he understands the tradeoff in being in "Brand New Day." Exactly how The Punisher carries himself in that movie will be interesting, to be sure.

(h/t The Hollywood Reporter)

Chris Morgan

Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.

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