While a lot about Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been kept under wraps (especially Sadie Sink’s character), it is well known that Jon Bernthal and Mark Ruffalo are going to reprise their Marvel roles as Frank Castle/The Punisher and Hulk/Bruce Banner, respectively. We have also seen both characters in the film’s teasers so far.
However, Hulk/Bruce Banner might not get as much screentime as Frank Castle/The Punisher. Tom Holland has teased what to expect from Hulk in the upcoming film, but that tease was followed by something that suggests that Frank Castle might get comparatively more screen time.
Tom Holland’s tease about Hulk in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Ahead of the launch of Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s final trailer, the cast of the film, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, and Sadie Sink, spoke about the film in an interview with Fandango. They discussed their respective characters and what to expect from the film without revealing anything major.
Tom Holland, who is notorious for giving spoilers about upcoming Marvel films by mistake, was extremely careful about what he was saying in the interview. When asked about the presence of the Hulk and the Punisher (both characters already confirmed to appear), all Holland said was:
“But yes, we do have the Hulk. In what context, that is definitely a secret.”
Our guess is that Holland meant we might see Bruce Banner and not exactly Hulk. In the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailers, we’ve seen Peter Parker approach Bruce Banner and talk about the changes he’s going through. Taking that and Holland’s tease into account, we might see Banner help Peter understand his powers and help him control them, but it is unlikely that we’ll see him transform into Hulk.
Why Punisher might get more screentime than Hulk in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
During the Fandango interview, after speaking very little about Hulk, Tom Holland chose to speak about Punisher instead. Holland talked about he’s excited for fans to see Bernthal in the film and about how he and Bernthal are really good friends and have known each other for years. He added,
“Um, and we did each other’s audition tapes to get Spider-Mlan and The Punisher back when l was 17, I think. Um, so for us to get to share the set and to portray these characters, you know, on the biggest stage is such an awesome kind of full circle moment for the pair of us.”
Holland also said that he’s excited for fans to see Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in a film that is not as dark as his earlier portrayals but still true to his character. Tom Holland then said that he and Jon Bernthal were given the liberty by director Destin Daniel Cretton to improvise various scenes, which essentially led them to have a
“big brother little brother bickering relationship”
Holland also added a small detail from the film: whenever Frank tries to swear, his mouth gets shut by Spider-Man’s web. This is one of the things done to make sure the film stays true to his character while staying appropriate for younger audiences.
Thus, while Hulk, aka, Bruce Banner will definitely have an important role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it looks like Punisher will have more screen time. None of this is confirmed news but predictions made on existing information.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released in theaters on July 31, 2026.
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Edited by Riddhee