Jon Bernthal Promises Effortless Leap From Spider-Man: Brand New Day To Punisher Special Presentation

Here is a sentence I did not expect to write in 2025: nearly ten years after Jon Bernthal first put on the skull, Frank Castle is finally hitting the big screen — and his first dance is with Tom Holland's Peter Parker in 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'. Even better (or worse, depending on how you feel about your heroes getting pulverized), Bernthal's Punisher is getting his own Disney+ special presentation soon after.

The big concern: will Frank be watered down next to Spidey?

Fair question. Spider-Man movies tend to skew crowd-pleasing, while Frank Castle's whole deal is... not that. But Bernthal says the character's intensity will not change just because he is swinging through a PG-13 playground. He told Screen Rant that he, Tom Holland, and director Destin Daniel Cretton were all on the same page about keeping the portrayal consistent between the movie and the Disney+ special.

"Around that same time, there will also be this Punisher special that's coming out, that I think will be as high-octane Punisher as you've ever seen," Bernthal said. "I think what was really important to me and to Destin and to Tom is that we believed that The Punisher could walk off of the Spider-Man set and could walk onto the special set, and I do believe that we achieved that."

Marvel has pulled this off before

We have seen a version of this trick. Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock popped up briefly in 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' before showing up later in 'She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'. He was a little less bone-crunchy on Disney+, sure, but still clearly the same guy fans had been waiting to see again. So the precedent is there: cameo in a Spidey movie, then slide into streaming, and keep the character intact.

Why the fights might actually rule

Destin Daniel Cretton, who is directing 'Brand New Day', delivered some of the most inventive action in the MCU with 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'. Pair that with Bernthal's take-no-prisoners Frank, and you are probably getting some wild, cleanly staged brawls. Frank vs. Spidey is a fascinating matchup: agility and nonlethal instincts versus a human battering ram who does not pull punches. Let's just hope Frank does not leave in even worse shape than usual.

What we know right now

• Frank Castle finally makes his big-screen MCU debut in 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'.
• Tom Holland is back as Peter Parker; Destin Daniel Cretton is directing.
• A Punisher special presentation is set to hit Disney+ around the same time.
• Bernthal says Frank's ferocity will match across both the movie and the special — that consistency was important to him, Holland, and Cretton.
• MCU precedent: Daredevil cameoed in 'No Way Home' before turning up in 'She-Hulk', toned down a bit but still unmistakably Matt.
• Cretton's 'Shang-Chi' fight craft suggests the Spidey/Punisher clashes should deliver.

Marvel is keeping the actual plot under wraps, but if Bernthal is right, Frank will feel like Frank whether he is sharing the screen with a friendly neighborhood hero or headlining his own ultra-violent showcase. That is the needle fans have wanted the MCU to thread since the Netflix days. Looks like they are taking their best shot.