SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY Cut a Punisher and Police Confrontation From the Final Act
Frank Castle hanging around a hospital with Spider-Man was already a pretty wild situation, but it turns out Jon Bernthal’s Punisher may have had another problem to deal with before that sequence was trimmed down.
New behind-the-scenes photos from Spider-Man: Brand New Day have revealed a deleted scene involving The Punisher being confronted by a police officer during the movie’s final act.
Beyond giving us another bit of Frank Castle action, the scrapped moment may have helped explain something about the hospital sequence that left fans with questions.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has become a box office monster, breaking records as audiences continue turning out for Tom Holland’s latest adventure as Peter Parker. The movie is on track to cross $2 billion worldwide, putting it among the highest-grossing films ever released.
Of course, fans are naturally interested in seeing what didn’t make director Destin Daniel Cretton’s theatrical version. Cretton has previously confirmed that both shorter and longer cuts of Spider-Man: Brand New Day existed during the editing process, which makes the eventual Digital and 4K Blu-ray release especially interesting.
We already know Rosario Dawson filmed scenes as Claire Temple that were ultimately removed. Now, another piece of deleted material has surfaced involving Bernthal’s Frank Castle and the police.
Military advisor Colton Hill, who worked on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, shared several behind-the-scenes photos from the production. Among them are images showing Hill appearing as a police officer who confronts The Punisher.
Based on the photos, the deleted encounter appears to take place at the hospital. If that’s the case, it could have filled in a noticeable gap in the finished movie.
Frank Castle is a wanted fugitive, yet he’s somehow able to spend time with Spider-Man in his hospital room without the staff or authorities immediately hauling him away.
A confrontation with the cops could have provided some context for how Frank managed to remain there, while also giving Bernthal another opportunity to bring his wonderfully intense version of The Punisher into Peter Parker’s world.
It’s also interesting considering where Bernthal wants to take Frank after his team-up with Spider-Man. During a recent interview, the actor talked about wanting to explore a side of Castle that goes beyond revenge and focuses more on what he can do for other people.
"I want to see how Frank can serve. I want to see how Frank can honour the dead, how Frank can honour the people that he lost by serving, not just by avenging.
"I think that we get there with Frank in some lines of the comic, and I want to get there. I want to get there on screen with him. I also want to continue to have the courage and the willingness to turn my back on the audience as Frank does."
That doesn’t mean Bernthal wants Frank softened up or transformed into a conventional hero. The actor remains interested in the uglier and more difficult parts of the character, even if Frank makes decisions that audiences won’t necessarily support.
"There's nothing about Frank Castle that he's trying to be likeable. There's nothing about Frank where he's trying to win over your hearts and minds,.
“And so, as much as I would like to explore Frank Castle that serves the community and that fights for justice, I also want to be completely willing and open to turning my back on the audience and going the other way with it too."
That’s exactly what makes Bernthal’s Punisher such a great character to throw into Spider-Man’s orbit. Peter Parker and Frank Castle can both recognize that something needs to be done about the bad guys running around New York City, but their ideas about how to handle them couldn’t be further apart.
Hopefully, this police confrontation isn’t destined to remain buried in the editing room. With Cretton confirming that other versions of the movie existed and more deleted material continuing to surface, there should be plenty for Sony and Marvel Studios to dig through when assembling the home entertainment extras.
You can check out screenshots from the deleted Punisher scene in the Instagram gallery below.