Jon Bernthal has appeared in several Marvel television series as the stone-cold vigilante known as the Punisher, even headlining his own series.
Now he’s taking his guns to the big screen.
Bernthal has joined Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the latest Spider-Man movie from Sony and Marvel. Destin Daniel Cretton is directing the feature, which will shoot in England this summer and has a July 31, 2026, release date.
Much of the movie remains shrouded in mystery. Movie rumor websites have listed upwards of a dozen possible villains, from crime bosses to alien symbiotes, who could appear in the feature, as well as a couple of different versions of the Hulk.
The only thing clear at this stage is that Zendaya and Jacob Batalon are reprising their roles as MJ and best friend Ned, although how substantial those roles will be remains unclear. And Stranger Things star Sadie Sink is the big new addition so far. The story takes place after the events of the previous movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home, in which the entire world knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man and then had that knowledge erased.
Having Bernthal as the Punisher seems to point to a slightly more grounded angle on the story as the character hails from the gritty street corner of Marvel’s universe and, in the comics at least, uses fists, knives and guns to tussle with bad guys, rather than spells or fancy tech. But hey, having him square off against a rampaging Hulk could be fun, too.
Bernthal first showed up as vigilante Frank Castle, aka the Punisher, in Marvel’s Daredevil Netflix series, then starred in his own series that ran for two seasons. He recently returned for a few episodes in Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+.
Marvel is betting on more Punisher and Bernthal in the months and years to come. The character is set to return for season two of Born Again and Marvel is bringing Bernthal back for a Punisher stand-alone feature for Disney+. Bernthal is co-writing the latter. Curiously, one nonnegotiable he had for his return to Daredevil was maintaining the character’s violent, R-rated feel. It will be interesting to see how that translates into the more kid-friendly tone of the Spider-Man movies.
Bernthal and Holland have a charmed history together when it comes to Marvel. The duo were working on the 2017 feature Pilgrimage when prepping to audition for their Marvel roles. The actors helped each other with their audition tapes.
This year, Bernthal’s big-screen output has included starring opposite Ben Affleck in The Accountant 2 for Amazon and appearing in the Rami Malek thriller The Amateur for 20th Century Fox.
Bernthal is repped by CAA and Sloane Offer.
