Tom Holland has seen the concern that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will pull its punches, but he says its version of the Punisher will be "authentic to the Frank Castle we know."
The Peter Parker actor tackled fears that the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie will stray from the brutality the antihero is known for during an interview with Empire. He said that he, Punisher actor Jon Bernthal, and director Destin Daniel Cretton still worked to bring a version of one of Marvel's most violent characters to the big screen.
"I know that there are concerns about taking a sort of R-rated character and putting him into one of these movies," Holland said, "but the way that we’ve designed the world around him feels very authentic to the Frank Castle we know."
The "Frank Castle we know" that Holland referred to is one that Bernthal started playing when Daredevil Season 2 premiered in 2016. Since then, viewers have fallen in love with his version of the character, which is known to beat his foes to bloody pulps through two seasons of his own TV show, one season of Daredevil: Born Again, and, more recently, a one-off Disney+ special called The Punisher: One Last Kill.
This Punisher is routinely covered in the bits and pieces of anyone in his way despite also existing in an MCU that typically skews its stories for more family-friendly audiences. It's something Cretton was aware of, but it sounds like the Spider-Man: Brand New Day team found ways to get around that without compromising Frank Castle's character.
"There are fun ways to get around the fact that he swears all the time and kills people," Holland teased.
We know little about the role Frank Castle plays in Spider-Man's next story. The character has at least shown up in one trailer, and can be seen driving an armored truck through a busy New York City street before blasting Peter Parker off the hood of his car. Another scene shows his mouth getting webbed up before dropping an F-bomb.
Meanwhile, Bernthal had his own thoughts to share regarding the Punisher's next outing. He told Empire that his Frank Castle is "perfectly at peace in a world of darkness." In other words, don't expect him to be Spider-Man's friendly next-door neighbor, even if he "does care about Peter."
"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," Bernthal added. "He’s fine living in there. In fact, all he wants to do is dig deeper."
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will sneak around the Punisher's brutal methods of crimefighting when it premieres July 31, 2026. For more, you can check out a recent poster that revealed a closer look at the new Spidey suit.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).