Jon Bernthal is gearing up for a major MCU resurgence in 2026, coming back as the Punisher in a Disney+ special and Spider-Man 4, aka Brand New Day. With filming on the two projects taking place back-to-back, the actor is now shedding light on how his return will maintain continuity across dramatically different Marvel tones.
Jon Bernthal explains Spider-Man 4’s connection with The Punisher special
Jon Bernthal, whose character remained absent from the MCU for years after Netflix’s Marvel deal ended, recently reemerged in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1. In that series, Frank Castle had been in hiding until Matt Murdock uncovered a corrupt faction of police officers misusing the Punisher’s symbol. The pair dismantled Wilson Fisk’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force, after which Castle was imprisoned but ultimately escaped. Basically, an ending that directly tees up the Disney+ special.
Just before production began on Punisher, Marvel confirmed Bernthal would also join Spider-Man 4. The actor shot both projects between July and August, setting up two major Punisher-driven storylines in 2026.
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day is slated for a July release, while the special is expected to debut around the same time as Daredevil: Born Again season 2. Fans wondered how the character’s famously violent, R-rated tone would translate to the more PG-13 world of a Spider-Man movie, also arc-wise.
Jon Bernthal explained to ScreenRant, “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.” Berntha continued, “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.”
Bernthal’s seamless transition mirrors the MCU’s earlier integration of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, who appeared in a lighter capacity in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
The Punisher may take on a similar dynamic in Brand New Day, especially given the film’s crowded roster, which includes returning stars Mark Ruffalo and Michael Mando and new additions Sadie Sink, Tramell Tillman, and Marvin Jones III as Tombstone.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on SuperHeroHype.