The world may have forgotten Peter Parker, but he’s still about to be punished! THR and other outlets are reporting that Jon Bernthal will suit up as The Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, joining Tom Holland, in the film from director Destin Daniel Cretton.
This comes after Bernthal reprised his Frank Castle/Punisher role from the Netflix series, debuting as part of the MCU in Daredevil: Born Again. Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil previously showed up in Spider-Man: No Way Home, linking these characters closely to Spidey as they are in the Marvel Comics. Punisher’s first comic book appearance was in Amazing Spider-Man in 1974. Spidey and Daredevil are perhaps Marvel’s most popular superhero team-up. It wouldn’t be surprising if more Daredevil stars are included, perhaps adding Cox himself and Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin?
Other new additions to the cast include Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink, and The Bear actress Liza Colón-Zayas. It’s expected that Zendaya and Jacob Batalon will return but nothing has been made official.
This is beginning to sound like a major shift in creative direction for the MCU, turning away from the Multiverse stuff that audiences have largely rejected. With The Punisher also receiving a “Special Presentation” episode on Disney+, it’s like Marvel is turning more towards the gritty, street-level stories.
The plan is for shooting to begin this summer, in time for Spider-Man: Brand New Day to hit theaters on July 31st 2026.
