Although a large part of the attention for the future of the Marvel cinematographic universe is on “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” in theaters on July 25, 2025, as well as “Avengers: Doomsday” currently in production, we may come from the most intriguing update concerning “Spider-Man: New Brand Day”. The Hollywood Reporter Confirmed that Jon Bernthal, winner of an Emmy, should make his debut on the big screen as Frank Castle / The Punisher in the next film, which should be led by the director of “Shang-Chi”, Destin Daniel Cretton.
That’s right. Punisher by Jon Bernthal will finally make his first appearance in a MCU film, and the most rightly, it will be in a film “Spider-Man”. While fans continue to speculate to find out if “Brand New Day” will be the right story for Peter Parker of Tom Holland after tectonic change in his life after the events of “No Way Way Home”, the addition of Frank Castle provides exciting ways to explore. It also alludes to certain unexplored territories for Parker and Castle, because they are both in the midst of a major change in their anchored worlds.
This is a full circle moment for Frank Castle, given its story in the comics
Francis “Frank” Castle, alias the Punisher, was created by the writer Gerry Conway and the artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The character appeared for the first time in “The Amazing Spider-Man” number # 129, which was published in February 1974 under the subtitle, “Le Punisher hits twice.” In his beginnings, the Punisher was initially established as a bad guy, but he became so popular among the readers that his character finally generated his own series. The anti-hero has since been adapted in three different films of live action, including a forgotten cult film of 1989 which featured Dolph Lundgren in the role, as well as two other iterations which featured Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson.
Eight years after the release of “Punisher: War Zone”, Marvel Television reintroduced the beloved anti-hero in season 2 of “Daredevil”, where Jon Bernthal made his debut as Frank Castle when he became an ally worried by Matt Murdock / Daredevil (Charlie Cox). Its initial appearance in this series led to its own autonomous spin-off program, “The Punisher”, which took place for two seasons before Netflix disconnects all its collaboration with Marvel Television. However, after years of anticipation, Bernthal made his triumphant return as part of the MCU official cannon in the first season of “Daredevil: Born Again”, and even with some invited star appearances, his performance rekindled the excitement among the fans, and his future was already brilliant, thanks to the announcement of a special Marvel presentation focused on character.
Why Frank Castle is the perfect addition to the world of Peter Parker
Peter Parker already had his first meeting on the screen with the more anchored threats of the MCU at the street level in “Spider-Man: No Way Way Home”, where he met Matt Murdock, lawyer of the law, who sought to represent him after the public revelation of his identity. The jury is still there to find out whether or not the alter-ego of Matt Murdock in “Brand New Day”, but the addition of Frank Castle / The Punisher augurs well for this potential team. Given that the gravelly criminal world of the city of New York of the MCU is being established in the wake of “Daredevil: Born Again”, it is clear that Marvel Studios seeks to bring a darker realism to Spidey by Tom Holland, who has already equipped with two multidite variants thanks to his latest film.
One of the main criticisms launched against the Spidey films by Tom Holland is that he is still involved in another major character from MCU in his history. Tony Stark / Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) all played a major role in Peter’s autonomous films. While “Brand New Day” promises to follow the step and can even boast more MCU connections, the addition of Frank Castle is perhaps the most direct teasing of the continuous maturation of our beloved webhead. Once you probably bring the darkest and most raw anti-hero in all Marvel’s comics in your film, it is clear that “Brand New Day” will not evoke the same adventures of the Jon Watts trilogy by Jon Watts. If nothing else, Peter will be tested on his convictions and his heroism once he met Frank for the first time, and the prospect of world consumption of Jon Bernthal who finds himself face to face with Spidey de Holland is certainly the most exciting development to be released from this new film.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” went to theaters on July 31, 2026.
