Jon Bernthal promises a seamless switch between Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Punisher Special Presentation

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Jon Bernthal promises a seamless switch between Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Punisher Special Presentation News By Nick Staniforth published 7 December 2025

"The Punisher could walk off of the Spider-Man set and could walk onto the special set"

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(Image credit: Disney/Marvel Studios)

It’s strange to think that, after a decade since his debut, Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle will finally make his big screen appearance, facing off against Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. While details about the wall-crawler's next chapter in the MCU are still being kept under wraps, one thing we do know is that Bernthal’s bruiser of a vigilante will have his own story coming to Disney+ soon after, as a special presentation.

Naturally, the expectation for a standalone Punisher story is that it will be a bloody outing and quite a departure from the relatively family-friendly environment he’ll share with Spider-Man. Well, that's what thought, at least. Fortunately, Bernthal has assured fans that Frank’s rage levels won’t differ between the two appearances. It’s a detail that not only he was set on sticking to, but also Tom Holland and the film’s director, Destin Daniel Cretton.

“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 promised in an interview with Screen Rant. “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.”

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It wouldn’t be the first time the MCU has pulled off this sort of trick. Before Punisher crossed paths with the webslinger, Peter Parker unknowingly encountered Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), aka Daredevil, in Spider-Man: No Way Home. This introduction also teed up the Man Without Fear to make an appearance elsewhere in the franchise with She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. During his screen time on the Disney+ show, he might not have beaten the bad guys to the degree we’d seen before, but he was still clearly the horn-head we’d known, loved, and sorely missed.

Keeping this in mind, along with Cretton’s expert handling of action sequences in Shang-Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings, we should expect some great power-packed scraps between Frank and Spidey. We just hope Frank won’t end up in any worse state than the kind we’ve seen him in before. For every other upcoming MCU movie and show coming our way, check out our guide here.

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Nick StaniforthSocial Links NavigationContributing Writer

Nick is a freelancer whose work can be found at Screen Rant, The Digital Fix, and Looper. He loves movies, TV, DC, and Marvel. He also believes that the best Robin Hood is still a talking fox.

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Logout Read more The Punisher won't return for Daredevil: Born Again season 2 because of his upcoming Disney Plus TV special    Spider-Man 4 star Tom Holland says he wants "to do justice to Peter Parker's character" in the Marvel movie: "I love standing up for the character"    Spider-Man 4 may be drawing directly on one of Marvel's most recent comic events that brings in Daredevil, Luke Cage, She-Hulk, Shang-Chi, Tombstone, and many more    Spider-Man 4 release date, cast, leaks and theories, and everything else we know about the Marvel movie    Luke Cage's Mike Colter continues to fan the flames of his return to the MCU    Despite that No Way Home cameo, Marvel star Charlie Cox denies he's returning as Daredevil in Spider-Man: Brand New Day    Latest in Marvel TV Shows Spider-Man Noir was "designed" to be filmed in black and white, but it's also getting a "period-inspired" color version    Daredevil: Born Again fans are worried season 2 will be delayed after a recent update: "A 1-year turnaround in this day and age was too good to be true"    Award-winning actor Ben Kingsley is taking his MCU imposter Trevor Slattery to the next level, offering acting lessons ahead of his return in Wonder Man    Daredevil: Born Again season 2 newcomer Matthew Lillard shares more details on his secret character that will be causing Fisk trouble    The Punisher won't return for Daredevil: Born Again season 2 because of his upcoming Disney Plus TV special    Wonder Man star says the series is "tongue-in-cheek" and "self-aware" about its place in the MCU: "There’ll be commentary about superhero fatigue"    Latest in News Jon Bernthal promises a seamless switch between Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Punisher Special Presentation    Resident Evil Requiem's GameStop listing seemingly leaks a second playable character and, no, it sadly isn't Leon Kennedy    Assassin's Creed Shadows backlash won't stop Ubisoft from going down the dual-protagonist route in the future "if we have a good reason to do it"    Halo's Cortana actor says the direction Bungie gave her for the FPS was to sound like "the girl next door" that you "wanted to hang out with, but you're not in love with"    Assassin's Creed Shadows lead teases "things that are set up" in the open-world RPG "should keep happening in other projects and evolve" thanks to the Animus Hub    Alien star Sigourney Weaver gives another intriguing update on potential return as Ellen Ripley    GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

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