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Jon Bernthal admits having questions on how 'R-rated' The Punisher would fit MCU's tone, knows fans 'will have an issue'
Jon Bernthal reprises his role as Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
For over a decade, five Spider-Man films hit the theatres, but the character existed in isolation, away from the large world that Marvel Studios was building with its secondary heroes all this time. Then, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man debuted in Captain America: Civil War and the crossover finally happened. Marvel’s biggest superhero was finally in Marvel’s biggest franchise. A decade on, the fourth solo Tom Holland film - Spider-Man: Brand New Day - brings new Marvel fan favourites into Spidey’s world. The most unusual of these is Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, one of the darkest and bloodiest Marvel characters, who enters the much lighter, sanitised world of the MCU.
At a recent press conference for the film, Jon Bernthal, who plays the Punisher, and Tom Holland discussed the challenges with the crossover and what fans can expect from it.
Jon Bernthal on bringing The Punisher to the MCU
The Punisher debuted in a Spider-Man comic in 1974, before appearing on screen in various iterations over the years. Jon Bernthal first played the iconic anti-hero in the Netflix series, Daredevil, in 2016, before getting his own spinoff, The Punisher. The actor reprised his role in the Disney+ original The Punisher: One Last Kill earlier this year. Brand New Day brings the character into an MCU film for the first time.
Talking about the crossover, Bernthal said, “I am enormously protective of Frank and the Punisher fans and what he stands for. That was a real question for me, and it was a concern for (producers) Amy (Pascal), Kevin (Feige), and this entire group. In art, when you get to the crux of an issue, if you don't try to avoid or run away from it, and treat the audience with respect - that they're also going to have an issue with it - you will get something great. I am so grateful to these guys for exploring this with us. It was as important to them as it was to me.”
The actor added that the film’s team wanted to make it believable that Frank Castle could exist in this world of Spider-Man. “I think what we set out to do was make it believable that the Punisher could walk out of one of those TV shows and onto this set. I think you will get that while also respecting the tone of this film,” he added.
Tom Holland on their off-camera equation
Tom Holland has famously said that he and Jon began their MCU journeys together, as they both auditioned for their respective roles as Spider-Man and The Punisher sometime in 2015. “I think it just gave us the perfect conflict to carry through every scene we have together. The way in which that conflict is resolved is so fulfilling and satisfying, but also so scary. It's no secret that Jon and I are good friends, and so much of our relationship on screen was formed because of those moments behind the camera,” the actor added, before leaving a promise for the fans: “We don’t compromise Frank and the Punisher in any way.”
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Spider-Man: Brand New Day stars Tom Holland alongside Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, and Mark Ruffalo. The film releases worldwide on July 31.
