Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film “The Odyssey” will feature MCU actors Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal, who first worked together in 2015 when they were filming the movie “Pilgrimage”, but fans will only have to wait 2 weeks to see the actors reunited once again in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”. THR has reported that Bernthal’s violent vigilante character the Punisher will be joining Holland’s Spider-Man in the Punisher’s first foray onto the big screen.
Although the fourth MCU ‘Spider-Man’ film was being developed since 2019 at the same time ‘No Way Home’ was being worked in, the project has routinely been pushed back and delayed due to a myriad of factors. Now that the most anticipated part 4 of any franchise since ‘Endgame’ Is only about a year out from release, the rumor mill has been working overtime with very little confirmed info about the project. So far, the only confirmations have been in regards to casting with Tom Holland obviously reprising his role as well as Jacob Batalon as Ned and Holland’s off-screen romantic partner Zendaya as MJ. Sadie Sink of “Stranger Things” fame is also confirmed as an unnamed character, which has been the subject of seemingly endless speculation from fans.
Sadie Sink of “Stranger Things” fame is also confirmed as an unnamed character, which has been the subject of seemingly endless speculation from fans.”
Bernthal returning as Frank Castle or the Punisher is the biggest news yet for the film. Bernthal’s casting only reinforces rumors that ‘Brand New Day’ is going to deal with street-level crimefighting, as opposed to magical, multiversal threats and villains hell bent on world domination. One thing that’s very nuclear, is how the Punishers brutal justice will fit into a cinematic experience that’s supposed to bring in the entire family as an audience. Is Spider-Man going to get a more R-rated makeover? Or will be the Punisher be more Disney-fied?
We’ve recently witnessed Bernthal’s return to the MCU in “Daredevil: Born Again”, where his character showed no signs of being any less brutal than his earlier incarnations of Frank Castle. Bernthal also has filmed a one-off special presentation of the Punisher, set to be release in 2026 (which Bernthal co-wrote) was also reportedly very violent and true to the original essence of the character from his dark Netflix beginnings. One of the actual deal points for Bernthal’s return to the MCU was to maintain the characters R-rated feel, but a Spider-Man movie may be a different story since Bernthal’s got kids of his own.
We’ve recently witnessed Bernthal’s return to the MCU in “Daredevil: Born Again”, where his character showed no signs of being any less brutal than his earlier incarnations of Frank Castle. Bernthal also has filmed a one-off special presentation of the Punisher, set to be release in 2026 (which Bernthal co-wrote) was also reportedly very violent and true to the original essence of the character from his dark Netflix beginnings. One of the actual deal points for Bernthal’s return to the MCU was to maintain the characters R-rated feel, but a Spider-Man movie may be a different story since Bernthal’s got kids of his own.
With filming set to begin for ‘Brand New Day’ in early August, hopefully Marvel Studios has a gameplan to reconcile family friendly with ultra-violence. Behind the scenes, Jon Watts, the director of the original trilogy which has made almost $4B globally in the box will not be returning. ‘Brand new Day’ will instead feature ‘Shang-Chi’ director Destin Daniel Cretton, who has proven his ability to handle both indie films and Marvel blockbusters. Cretton directing does suggest that the film will have a more serious tone, but that is pure speculation at this point.
Tom Holland and Bernthal first met on the film “Pilgrimage”, where both characters were preparing to audition for their MCU roles. The actors helped each other prep for their auditions, and their careers have grown immensely more high-profile since their first meeting. It seems now that both performers are set to reignite that chemistry in both “The Odyssey” and “Brand New Day”, which will likely be 2026’s biggest summer films. There will undoubtedly be many more official announcements coming from ‘Brand New Day’ before filming concludes as well as countless rumors, but the question of how family friendly this installment of ‘Spider-Man’ will be remains. Can Marvel Studios keep butts in the seats with a much more violent tone? If the Punisher gets watered down, will they lose the edgier male, 25-44 audience?
Any predictions now would be based on no real concrete evidence, so we’ll only speculate that the Punisher will be just one part of a much larger formula that includes many villains and heroes, so his Rated-R style may still be there, but sprinkled throughout as to not upset the parents and young children that will undoubtedly be buying tickets.
What do you think? Will the Punisher take Spidey to the darkest corners of NYC? What other crazy cameos are we going to get? Are the rumors of Hulk crashing the party true? Will we get to see Matt Murdock or Daredevil? What other villains are in store? Who will Sadie Sink Play?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
