Marvel Studios finally confirmed exactly how long fans will be waiting to see Jon Bernthal's Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Seven years on from his two-season Netflix series' conclusion, Frank Castle has been enjoying a new lease of life in the MCU through Daredevil: Born Again, The Punisher: One Last Kill, and now, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. That said, as the July blockbuster has a stacked cast of heroes and villains, many have pondered how much time Spider-Man 4 will have for its violent, foul-mouthed anti-hero star.
Sony Pictures released a new "Practical Production" featurette for Spider-Man: Brand New Day to highlight how much of the movie's action was crafted in-camera, without VFX. Citing one example of that shift from previous movies, Destin Daniel Cretton referred to "that opening action sequence," which was the "first thing [they] did" when production began last year
Fans caught glimpses of Spider-Man chasing a tank through the streets of New York from those snapping shots of the open set in Glasgow, Scotland. Part of the chase sequence (later showcased in the teaser trailer) featured Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle joining the pursuit in his battle van, confirming that he will enter Brand New Day as early as the opening sequence.
Unless Brand New Day's trailer is hiding even earlier Punisher moments from the city-wide tank chase, Castle will seemingly enter Spider-Man 4 by running down the wall-crawler, who has just been knocked out of his swing by a minigun.
Interestingly, after landing on the Punisher's windscreen, Spider-Man exclaims, "What the hell, Frank?" That familiarity would indicate that the two contrasting vigilantes have met sometime before this moment in the opening sequence, or perhaps Peter simply recognized Frank from news reports about his antics.
Having told Spidey to "quit [his] whimpering," Castle is done holding back as he sends the hopeful hero flying back onto the armored tank with a shotgun blast.
Castle will quickly learn that actions have consequences when Spidey comes catapulting back toward him, knocking the Punisher out of the back of his own van and onto the street, taking him out of the chase for the time being.
Brand New Day is Castle's first journey into the PG-13 realm, and, while Bernthal has been clear that the Punisher will feel no different, he can't bring his familiar foul mouth with him. Thus, Spider-Man webs Frank's mouth in the trailer, cutting him off as he attempts to exclaim, "Mother fu-!"
Spider-Man: Brand New Day's cast billing placed Jon Bernthal's Punisher fifth, behind Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, and Jacob Batalon, but ahead of Trammell Tillman, Michael Mando, and Mark Ruffalo. That points toward a major starring role for Bernthal, but the truth won't become clear until July 31.
The Punisher's Storyline in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, According to Rumors
The armored tank that Spider-Man and Punisher are pursuing looks to be piloted by a mind-controlled older woman and heading to a Damage Control prison. It has been reported that the web-slinger and the criminal-slayer will team up to find mind-controlled agents who are trying to break Scorpion out of prison, indicating that the vanless Punisher will make his way back to fray.
That breakout will seemingly be executed by Sadie Sink's mind-bending character, heavily rumored to be the X-Men hero Jean Grey, who Damage Control will be pursuing throughout Spider-Man 4. Furthermore, scooper Daniel Richtman claimed that Castle will have a "close relationship" with the mystery mutant, perhaps bringing his protective, fatherly instincts from his late daughter into the narrative.
Castle may be the vehicle to bring another Netflix character into Brand New Day, and no, not Charlie Cox's Daredevil. The same reputable insider also reported that the Punisher will take a "badly injured" Peter Parker to Rosario Dawson's Claire Temple for help, resuming her role as a nurse to street-level vigilantes from the Defenders Saga, possibly after Spidey's showdown with the Hulk.
By all accounts, the Punisher will enter Brand New Day in its opening sequence and seemingly play a major role throughout the story. Beyond likely helping fight the out-of-control Savage Hulk and aiding Jean Grey in evading Damage Control, it's easy to imagine Frank Castle and Peter Parker regularly coming into moral conflicts due to their opposing views on killing criminals and villains.
