Jon Bernthal made his "official" MCU debut in Daredevil: Born Again earlier this year, and the future now looks bright for Frank Castle. The actor will reprise the role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day and his own Disney+ Special Presentation in 2026, though he isn't expected to appear in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.
There have been a lot of questions about how the next Spider-Man movie and The Punisher's Special will connect, particularly as they're likely to have very different ratings (PG-13 vs. TV-MA). It's also not clear whether, from a storytelling perspective, the two projects will be closely connected.
Talking to Screen Rant, Bernthal shared new insights into the connection and revealed that he worked with Tom Holland and filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton to ensure continuity between Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Punisher.
"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," the actor teased. "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."
Without reading too much into Bernthal's comments, it almost sounds like he's hinting at The Punisher Special Presentation being released on Disney+ after Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters next July.
However, it still seems more likely that the Disney+ tale will bridge the gap between Daredevil: Born Again and Spidey's next solo outing. Marvel Studios hasn't announced a release date for The Punisher, but it's previously been reported to arrive around the same time as the Man Without Fear's second season.
Earlier this year, Bernthal shed some light on the inspiration behind the Special Presentation he's co-writing with Reinaldo Marcus Green.
"For the Marine Corps. and that community for helping me on this journey. Helping me write, helping me find this character; some of the best people that we have in this country have worn that Punisher skull on their body armour when they've taken that unbelievable walk into danger to stand up for our country."
He added, "That's something that I take enormously seriously, and I make the show for them; I make it with them. I just really, really want to get it right."
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings helmer Destin Daniel Cretton directs Spider-Man: Brand New Day from a script by returning Spider-Man franchise writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.
Tom Holland plays Spider-Man in a cast that also includes Jon Bernthal (The Punisher), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Zendaya (MJ), Sadie Sink, Michael Mando (The Scorpion), Tramell Tillman, Marvin Jones III (Tombstone), Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds), and Liza Colón-Zayas. Avengers: Doomsday star Florence Pugh is expected to reprise her Thunderbolts* role as Yelena Belova.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released in theaters on July 31, 2026.