By Gavin Boyle
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, the fourth Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movie, will start filming this summer, and it may have found its villain as Jon Bernthal joins the cast as The Punisher.
“All I can tell is that it’s happening,” Holland told GOOD MORNING AMERICA last October when asked about the upcoming movie. “The idea is crazy. It’s a little different to anything we’ve done before, but I think the fans are gonna really respond to it.”
Adding The Punisher to the lineup of characters may give an idea of what Holland meant by “different.” The character’s action often plays out in gritty fistfights, rather than the magical mysticism of Doctor Strange that was prevalent in the previous movie.
Bernthal first played The Punisher in 2016 on Netflix’s DAREDEVIL and has since reprised the role multiple times, including his own show that ran for two seasons. Though Marvel is unlikely to create an R-rated SPIDER-MAN, depending on how much screen time The Punisher gets, he could push the envelope of PG-13.
Other confirmed cast members for the movie include Zendaya and Jacob Batalon who are reprising their roles as MJ and Ned, respectively. However their involvement in the movie in unclear because, at the end of SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, everyone’s memory of Peter Parker was wiped, including his closest pals. STRANGER THINGS star Sadie Sink has also joined the cast, though her character has been shrouded in mystery.
Related: SPIDER-MAN 4 Updates: Zendaya’s Return, Potential Director and Filming Start Date
While the next SPIDER-MAN will not hit theaters until July 31, 2026, Holland is already building hype for the movie, stating that he only signed on for the project because the script was as strong as the previous movies in the franchise. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME grossed over $800 million at the box office, and the Holland-led franchise has garnered over $1.5 billion.
“We have the best in the business working towards whatever the story might be. But until we’ve cracked it, we have a legacy to protect,” Holland said before the fourth movie was confirmed. “The third movie was so special in so many ways that we need to make sure we do the right thing.”
Along with stellar storytelling, the previous movies in the franchise have also offered a family-friendly experience that parents have enjoyed with their older teens. A portion of Movieguide®’s review reads:
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME is filled with fun surprises and twists, plus lots of action. There’s plenty of serious jeopardy leading to stirring, sad and tearful moments. The performances are perfectly melded with the story’s twists and turns, including some surprise appearances. NO WAY HOME has a strong moral, redemptive premise that everyone deserves a second chance, even supervillains. In the movie, Aunt May inspires Peter to do the right thing and give the supervillains a second chance to set things right. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME has many light obscenities and profanities, intense action violence and occult content.
It is exciting to have more information on the direction of the movie as The Punisher joins the cast and gives fans an idea of how the fourth movie might play out.
Read Next: Tom Holland Dishes on ‘Intense,’ ‘Really Fun’ SPIDER-MAN 4 Prep
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