Jon Bernthal Promises a "High-Octane" Punisher in SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY
Jon Bernthal just gave Punisher fans exactly what they’ve been hoping to hear. While promoting his upcoming Marvel projects, the actor opened up about Frank Castle’s role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and it sounds like Marvel isn’t pulling its punches with the character, even in a PG-13 setting.
Bernthal first brought Frank Castle to life during the second season of Daredevil on Netflix, and fans immediatly embraced him in the role. That momentum carried into the standalone The Punisher series, which ran for two brutal, uncompromising seasons.
After the Netflix era wrapped up, Castle was off the board for a while until Bernthal officially returned in Daredevil: Born Again, which premiered on Disney+ in March 2025.
Because Daredevil and The Punisher have always lived firmly in TV-MA territory, there’s been understandable concern about how Frank Castle would fit into Spider-Man: Brand New Day, a movie widely expected to land a PG-13 rating. Would Marvel sand down the edges of one of its most violent antiheroes?
According to Bernthal, that wasn’t going to happen. Speaking with Screen Rant, the actor explained that he worked closely with the Spider-Man team to make sure this version of Frank Castle still felt authentic to the character fans know.
“Around that same time, there will also be this Punisher special that’s coming out that I think will be as sort of high-octane kind of Punisher as you’ve ever seen.
“And I think what was really important to me and to Destin [Daniel Cretton] and to Tom [Holland] is that we believed that the Punisher that could walk off of the Spider-Man set could walk on to the special set. I do believe that we achieved that.”
That’s good to hear, especially considering this marks Frank Castle’s first appearance in a PG-13 Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. Bernthal’s comments suggest that while the movie may pull back on explicit violence, the core intensity, attitude, and presence of The Punisher remain fully intact.
Marvel Studios announced the untitled Punisher special in February 2025. The project is co-written by Bernthal and Reinaldo Marcus Green, who also directs. Story details are being kept tightly under wraps, but the special is confirmed to take place after the events of Born Again Season 1.
The Punisher special is expected to land on Disney+ around the same window as Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is currently set for a July 31, 2026 theatrical release.
If Marvel sticks the landing, fans could be getting a one-two punch of Frank Castle content that bridges street-level grit with big-screen spectacle.