Tom Holland Addresses Concerns Of An R-Rated Punisher In Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Marvel Studios

"The Punisher: One Last Kill" is a violent spectacle, but viewers shouldn't expect Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) to go completely off the rails in the upcoming "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." The film's family-friendly rating means that the skull-adorned vigilante will have to tone down his outbursts and naughty language, but Tom Holland assures fans that Castle will still be true to himself. As he told Empire:

"I know that there are concerns about taking a sort of R-rated character and putting him into one of these movies, but the way that we've designed the world around him feels very authentic to the Frank Castle we know. There are fun ways to get around the fact that he swears all the time and kills people."

That sounds good and all, but "The Punisher: One Last Kill" still raises some questions about "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." Castle's most recent on-screen outing is so unhinged that Spidey's upcoming adventure risks undermining the violent vigilante's atrocities. Sure, it could lead to an entertaining strange bedfellow's dynamic, but do "Punisher" fans want to see a neutered Castle cosying up to Spider-Man? Still, maybe the fact both characters have lost family members will strike up a bond between them?

Of course, we can only wait and see the movie before casting judgments. Holland's comments at least making it sound like Marvel is aware of everyone's concerns, and Bernthal has echoed similar sentiments in the past.

Marvel Studios

As of this writing, The Punisher's role in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" remains unclear. Will he be on Peter Parker's bad side following his bloodbath in "One Last Kill," or will they join forces to take down the criminal underworld? It'll probably be a combination of both, but Jon Bernthal believes "Brand New Day" will make sense to viewers who caught the Disney+ "Punisher" special. As he told ScreenRant:

"I think what was really important to me and to Destin [Daniel Cretton] and to Tom [Holland] 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."

"The Punisher: One Last Kill" ends with Frank Castle in a bad way. His body count is high, everyone wants him dead, and he's still spiraling after losing his family and war comrades years before. Peter Parker is arguably the best character to cheer him up, even if Frank has some demons to overcome, so there is that. 

At the same time, Bernthal noted to Empire that Castle likes the dark hole he's dug himself into, "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. He's fine living in there. In fact, all he wants to do is dig deeper."

"The Punisher: One Last Kill" also introduced one of Marvel's scariest villains — the type of guy who isn't suited to a movie like "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." With that in mind, surely it's only a matter of time until Castle has more R-rated adventures following his upcoming team-up with Spidey?

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" hits theaters on July 31, 2026