Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day: What This Could Mean

Courtesy of Sony Pictures & Netflix

Spider-Man: Brand New Day comes out next summer and is starting to pick up with its casting. Joining Tom Holland so far are Zendaya and Jacob Batalon returning as MJ and Ned, although it’s unknown how big their roles will be since their characters forgot who Peter Parker is. New cast members confirmed to join them are Sadie Sink and Liza Colon-Zayas in unknown roles. On June 20, another MCU star was confirmed to be in the movie. It’s no surprise that another MCU character would be in the upcoming Spider-Man movie since Tony Stark, Nick Fury, and Doctor Strange appear in the previous MCU Spider-Man movies. Rumors over the last few years suggested Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and Bruce Banner/Hulk. What fans weren’t expecting was Jon Bernthal’s Punisher to be in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. On June 20, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Bernthal would appear as Punisher.

Bernthal has played the Punisher since the character first appeared in season 2 of Daredevil, back when the series was on Netflix. He had his spinoff series on Netflix, The Punisher, for 2 seasons from 2017 to 2019. He came back to reprise the role for Daredevil: Born Again on Disney +. He is expected to return in a Punisher Disney + special for next year. Bernthal has been praised for his performance. For most casual fans, they didn’t expect a character who has only been in the R-rated Marvel shows to be in a Spider-Man movie. At the same time, it makes sense.

While the Punisher has had his own comics and movies for years before being in the MCU, the Punisher has deep connections to Spider-Man going all the way back to the 1970s. In 1974, the Punisher first appeared in “Amazing Spider-Man Issue 129” also titled “The Punisher Strikes Twice”. This was a significant time for Spider-Man comics. 8 issues before that, Spider-Man’s girlfriend Gwen Stacy was killed by the Green Goblin, shocking comic book readers that Marvel would make such a bold decision. The following issue saw Green Goblin die at the hands of his glider. This was a time when Peter Parker was dealing with Gwen’s death and was wanted for the murder of Norman Osborn. This comic also introduced the villain Jackal, who would later be behind a future infamous Spider-Man comic arc ‘The Clone Saga.’ In this comic, Jackal would hire Punisher to take out Spider-Man. Punisher would butt heads with Jackal over what he saw as Jackal’s dishonorable actions. After a few encounters with Spider-Man, Punisher learned Jackal was using him to do his dirty work. Since then, he made several appearances in the comics with Spider-Man and other heroes, eventually getting his solo comic series.

Punisher appeared a few times in Spider-Man: The Animated Series from the 1990s as well. At first, he hunts Spider-Man down after Spider-Man is blamed for Michael Morbius’s disappearance. When Spider-Man mutates, Punisher works with Kraven to cure Spider-Man. He later appears when Mary Jane’s aunt Anna Watson asks him to question Peter Parker over Mary Jane’s disappearance.

The idea of Spider-Man possibly facing Punisher and teaming up with him is exciting and makes fans wonder what kind of tone is Spider-Man: Brand New Day going for. According to The Hollywood Reporter, one nonnegotiable he had when returning for Daredevil: Born Again is he wanted to keep Punisher’s R-rated violent feel. Spider-Man: Brand New Day will most likely be PG-13 like all the other Spider-Man movies so it does make fans wonder what Punisher’s role will be and the tone to make him agree to appear. Perhaps this Spider-Man movie will push the limit to that PG-13 and R-rated border like The Wolverine did. It wouldn’t be a surprise that Spider-Man: Brand New Day would be darker than the previous MCU Spider-Man movies. Peter Parker is forgotten and has no one in his corner. All he has is Spider-Man. Since Spider-Man: No Way Home, New York City has changed with Kingpin as mayor and has outlawed vigilantism. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Green Goblin killed Aunt May causing Peter to nearly kill the multiverse villain until Tobey Maguire’s Peter stopped him.

The question is what kind of role will the Punisher provide? It’s unlikely this version of Punisher will be manipulated or hired to kill Spider-Man like he did when he first appeared. Perhaps he does fight Spider-Man for other reasons. The last we saw of Punisher he was escaping prison in the post-credit scene of the last episode of season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again. He will return for Season 2, which comes out months before Spider-Man: Brand New Day so it will be interesting to see what happens with him there. Perhaps he works with Spider-Man to take on Kingpin or some other villain and they come to disagreements over how they handle criminals. One rumor out there is they will work together to take on Hulk. Mark Ruffalo possibly appearing as Bruce Banner/Hulk was a rumor floating around before Bernthal was confirmed to appear. The action of this movie will be different and will most likely succeed, especially with Destin Daniel Craig directing it but don’t expect the usual R-rated Punisher action.

We still have no idea who the villains of Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be who will ultimately bring these two vigilantes together. Rumors have suggested that Mr. Negative, Wraith, Scorpion, Tombstone, and Boomerang could be the antagonists. Another weird rumor that floated around Twitter was Silver Samurai and Viper. Most fans want to see Vincent D’Onfrio’s Wilson Fisk be the main villain and finally face Spider-Man. Spider-Man, while not mentioned by name, was hinted at in a speech said by Fisk in Daredevil: Born Again. We also have no idea if other vigilantes like Daredevil will appear. D’Onfrio has said it’s unlikely he would be in any of the MCU movies because of ownership rights with his character. Still, if they could get Bernthal to appear in the upcoming movie and Charlie Cox did appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home as Matt Murdock, it could be possible to get Kingpin in. This could also depend on how Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 goes with these characters.

Another thing Punisher’s appearance confirms is that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will most likely be a grounded, more traditional Spider-Man movie instead of a multiverse movie. After the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Sony wanted another multiverse Spider-Man movie while Kevin Feige and Tom Holland wanted a more grounded Spider-Man movie. This clash seemed to last for a few years, with movie scoopers one day saying it’s a grounded movie and then the next day scoopers claiming it’s a multiverse movie. This was also likely due to Spider-Man: Brand New Day being scheduled to come out after Avengers: Doomsday. With Avengers: Doomsday now delayed to December 18, 2026, and now coming out after Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it makes it easier to have a grounded Spider-Man movie before all the multiversal craziness likely to happen in Avengers: Doomsday.

Overall, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has only gotten more anticipated. Hopefully, we soon learn the roles of Sadie Sink and Liza Colon-Zayas, as well as other supporting characters, possibly other vigilantes and heroes appearing, and the antagonists. Spider-Man and Punisher’s comic history makes this feel like a dream come true, so hopefully, the movie pulls it off. Are you excited for Jon Bernthal’s return as Punisher for Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Who else do you think will appear? Let us know in the comments below.