It’s in the name: the Punisher, well… punishes. Violently. As Marvel fans most recently saw in MCU Special Presentation The Punisher: One Last Kill, with Jon Bernthal taking centre stage once more as vengeful ex-marine Frank Castle – a role he originated in Netflix’s Defenders shows, and reprised in Daredevil: Born Again. Next stop for the Punisher? Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is less likely to feature the kind of bone-crunching no-holds-barred smackdowns seen in One Last Kill. Still, it sounds like director Destin Daniel Cretton – along with Bernthal and Spidey himself, Tom Holland – has found ways to bring an authentic Punisher into Peter Parker’s world, without landing Brand New Day in hot water.
As Holland tells Empire, fans will see consistency with what’s come before from the Punisher. “I know that there are concerns about taking a sort of R-rated character and putting him into one of these movies, but the way that we’ve designed the world around him feels very authentic to the Frank Castle we know,” Holland explains. If the MPAA would look less favourably on The Punisher’s actions, the same goes for Peter Parker himself. “There are fun ways to get around the fact that he swears all the time and kills people,” teases Holland.
And don’t expect Castle to go soft in the presence of Spidey, either. “Frank Castle is perfectly at peace in a world of absolute darkness,” says Bernthal. “He’s not looking for a buddy, he’s not looking for a friend, he’s not looking for a hand to pull him out of the hole that he’s in. He’s fine living in there. In fact, all he wants to do is dig deeper.” Get ready for another perfect pairing of mismatched allies in the MCU. “I think, begrudgingly, Frank would tell you, if he had to be honest, he does care about Peter,” Bernthal promises. Just, don’t get on his bad side.
Read Empire’s full Spider-Man: Brand New Day cover story – speaking to Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, Kevin Feige, Destin Daniel Cretton, Amy Pascal and more – in the July 2026 issue, on sale Thursday June 4. Pre-order a copy online here. Spider-Man: Brand New Day comes to cinemas from July 29.