Tom Holland Explains Spider-Man’s Dynamic With Punisher After Brand New Day Trailer

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Tom Holland is excited for fans to see his Spider-Man interact with Jon Bernthal’s Punisher in the upcoming story, Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Tom Holland returns as Spider-Man in Brand New Day, his fourth Marvel Cinematic Universe film. This movie focuses on Peter Parker starting a new chapter after the death of Aunt May and the loss of his friends’ memories of him. The cast also includes Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Michael Mando, Sadie Sink, and Mark Ruffalo.

The first trailer for Brand New Day shows Peter struggling with feeling alone, despite his success as Spider-Man. It also hints that Spider-Man will encounter both Bruce Banner/Hulk (played by Ruffalo) and Frank Castle/Punisher in the story.

Tom Holland says the dynamic between him and Karl Urban is his favorite aspect of working on Brand New Day. In an interview with the Empire State Building blog, Holland described how their on-screen relationship evolved from initial dislike into a playful, sibling-like rivalry through improvisation. He explained, “It started as this relationship of two people that really kind of hate each other, and then as we started improvising, it became this big brother-little brother rivalry.”

Holland expressed his enthusiasm for Jon Bernthal’s portrayal of the Punisher in the film. He explained that despite the Punisher originating from the more mature, R-rated side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Brand New Day seamlessly integrated him into its own world. Holland believes Bernthal delivers a fantastic performance in the movie.

Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal have been friends for a long time. They even helped each other out on set – Bernthal filmed Holland’s audition tape for Spider-Man: Homecoming while they were working together on the 2017 film The Pilgrimage. Their close friendship clearly influenced how their characters interacted, with Holland calling it his “favorite Spider-Man dynamic ever.”

I was really interested to hear what Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, had to say about potentially bringing the Punisher into the Tom Holland Spider-Man universe, specifically with Brand New Day. He explained that we’re finally seeing Tom Holland’s Spider-Man really come into his own, focusing on protecting the city from everyday crime instead of massive, world-threatening events. That got them thinking about other heroes who operate at that same level, and he pointed out that the Punisher actually started in a Spider-Man comic book, which is pretty cool!

Spider-Man: Brand New Day releases in theaters on July 31, 2026.

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2026-03-21 20:18