Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day will mark Jon Bernthal’s first time in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie as Punisher will be showing up in the 2026 installment. While Peter Parker may have been absent from the MCU since 2021, Holland is swinging his way back into the franchise in Phase 6, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, following the conclusion of his initial trilogy. We still don’t know much about Brand New Day‘s plot, but it seems we now know which MCU hero will be appearing this time.
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Jon Bernthal, who has played Frank Castle since Daredevil season 2, and even starred in his own The Punisher TV show, will be joining the Spider-Man: Brand New Day cast. At the time of this story’s publication, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have yet to comment on Bernthal’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day addition.
|
The Punisher’s Previous MCU Appearances |
|---|
|
Daredevil season 2 |
|
The Punisher season 1 |
|
The Punisher season 2 |
|
Daredevil: Born Again |
What Jon Bernthal’s Punisher Addition In Spider-Man: Brand New Day Means
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has also cast Sadie Sink and Liza Colón-Zayas as mystery players, but Bernthal’s Punisher is the first major MCU TV character to be added to the film. Bernthal made his return to the MCU earlier this year in Daredevil: Born Again season 1, and is set to star and write his own MCU Special Presentation for 2026; his Spider-Man: Brand New Day addition shows that Marvel Studios is finally looking to do more with the Marvel-Netflix players, especially after Matt Murdock’s cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home. With Punisher’s inclusion, this may also hint that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will have a more street-level, grounded story.
Bernthal and Holland famously helped each other with their respective Punisher and Spider-Man auditions.
In the comics, the Punisher and Spider-Man originally started out as rivals – with the Punisher targeting Spider-Man because he believed him responsible for Gwen Stacy’s death. It’s safe to say they’ll be antagonists again; it remains to be seen whether Daredevil will also appear in Brand New Day, perhaps trying to make peace between the two. Bernthal’s appearance certainly makes it seem possible.
Our Take On Jon Bernthal’s Punisher Joining Spider-Man: Brand New Day
While time will tell how Punisher will fit into Spider-Man: Brand New Day, this is going to be one of the biggest exciting aspects of the Phase 6 adventure, with Frank finally getting to engage with other MCU characters outside the world of TV. If Spider-Man: Brand New Day also adds Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, it will be another stepping point for Holland’s web-crawler to get to work more with the street-level heroes of the franchise. Hopefully, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day set to start filming soon, more casting news will be rolling out about the highly anticipated film.
Source: THR
