Disney's Ultra-Violent Punisher Special Raises One Big Question About Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle is back in "The Punisher: One Last Kill," the latest "Special Presentation" from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (read our review here). Rather than give The Punisher his own officially sanctioned MCU show (the previous "Punisher" series on Netflix doesn't count for reasons too complicated to get into here, but this new special does fix a big issue with that show), the powers-that-be first brought Bernthal's violent vigilante into Season 1 of "Daredevil: Born Again" and then gave him his own one-off special before he leaps to the big screen in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day."

"One Last Kill" is surprisingly self-contained for an MCU title; I confess I haven't watched any of "Daredevil: Born Again," but didn't feel lost when watching "One Last Kill." That's probably because The Punisher isn't exactly a complicated character. If you know his basic backstory — criminals murdered his family, so he's devoted his life to murdering criminals — you're pretty much good to go.

However, with Frank set to team up with Tom Holland's Spidey in "Brand New Day," I was expecting some sort of tease for that film tucked away somewhere in "One Last Kill." But that didn't happen (which might catch some Marvel fans off guard). Ultimately, I came away from the 51-minute special with one question on my mind: How the hell are they going to have this ultra-violent lunatic team up with Tom Holland's goofy, comical webslinger?

In "One Last Kill," Frank has finally avenged his slain family, which means he's now a man without a purpose. He putters around his dirty apartment in a neighborhood overrun by crime, suffering from hallucinations while doing pull-ups until his hands bleed. Frank is suddenly thrust back into action when he's marked for death and a horde of killers swarm into his apartment complex hoping to claim his head. This leads to unquestionably the most violent MCU property yet, as we watch Frank murder approximately 100 people, dispatching one nameless goon after another with guns, knives, axes, and baseball bats. It's extremely violent, and that makes sense, because The Punisher is a violent character.

Tom Holland's Spider-Man, however, is not. Sure, Spidey and The Punisher have met up a bunch of times in Marvel comics, but comics and movies are different beasts. And while there's plenty of death and darkness in the MCU, the Spider-Man films are fairly breezy and light. That's part of the charm, because Holland is quite good at playing Peter Parker as a likable young guy making awkward jokes as he navigates the life of a superhero. In fact, I'd go so far as to say Holland's first Spidey film, "Spider-Man: Homecoming," could be classified as a comedy.

But while Holland is funny and family friendly as Spider-Man, Bernthal's Frank Castle is unhinged and terrifying. Bernthal, who always looks intense and has the ability to let loose a guttural yell-scream that makes your blood run cold, seems to have been born to play The Punisher. And "One Last Kill" establishes the character as such a force of unrelenting violence that I'm having a hard time picturing him hanging out with the MCU's Spider-Man.

The "Brand New Day" trailer makes light of this odd pairing when we see Spidey stop Frank from shooting someone, then cover his mouth with webbing (ew) before Frank can drop an F-bomb. But will Peter Parker be privy to the knowledge that Frank Castle is basically a serial killer at this point? Will he be aware that, assuming "Brand New Day" takes place close to the events of "One Last Kill," Frank just turned a neighborhood into a war zone and engaged in an act of mass murder, slaughtering a whole bunch of guys in one bloody afternoon? 

And if so, is Spider-Man okay with that?

Or maybe I'm just overthinking all of this. For all I know, Frank's role in "Brand New Day" isn't very large to begin with. And if I had to guess, I'd say that the ultra-violent events of "One Last Kill" won't be brought up in that film at all. Or maybe Frank will brutally shoot a bunch of people in the face while Spider-Man shrugs and cracks a joke. Who can say?

"The Punisher: One Last Kill" is now streaming on Disney+. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" opens in theaters on July 31, 2026.