Marvel Studios is rapidly approaching the arrival of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first 2026 movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the fourth solo film for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is poised to be one of the year’s biggest hits. The Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer broke viewership records, reflecting the high interest in seeing what’s coming next.
This is largely due to Brand New Day continuing the web-slinger’s story after Spider-Man: No Way Home’s ending. The $1.9 billion blockbuster left Peter alone following Doctor Strange’s spell that made everyone forget who he was. This directly leads into the new film’s story, with Peter all consumed by his heroic duties and still yearning to reunite with MJ.
Holland’s hero will not be alone in this next adventure. Spider-Man will interact with established MCU characters like Bruce Banner/Hulk and Frank Castle/Punisher. Rumors have swirled that he’ll even encounter Jean Grey, a staple of the X-Men, as she makes her MCU debut.
The cast and story give avenues for Brand New Day to connect to several previous MCU projects, including those Spider-Man wasn’t in, like Thunderbolts* and Daredevil: Born Again. Only one of the MCU releases it’s building off of hasn’t come out yet, but that will change once The Punisher: One Last Kill debuts.
A Spider-Man: Brand New Day Prequel Comes To Disney+ In May
Tom Holland as Peter Parker in Spider-Man Brand New Day
Prior to Jon Bernthal reprising his role as Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the anti-hero is set to star in a Disney+ Special Presentation. Titled The Punisher: One Last Kill, the 60-minute special is officially set to release on Disney’s streaming service on May 12.
Punisher’s special is the last officially dated piece of MCU material on the schedule before Brand New Day. It also happens to be the last time audiences will get a chance to explore some of Frank’s life before he crosses over with Spider-Man. Punisher is not appearing in Daredevil: Born Again season 2, and his special will act as a coda to that street-level story, while also setting up the next chapter in theaters.
The Punisher: One Last Kill is coming to Disney+ the week after Daredevil: Born Again season 2 ends, which is also just over two months before Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters. And since Punisher is set to appear in the upcoming blockbuster film, the character’s special serves as a prequel of sorts, making it a must-watch for anyone wanting to stay up to date on Frank’s story heading into his long-awaited big-screen return.
How The Punisher’s Special Will Set Up Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Frank Castle is looking to the side in Punisher One Last Kill
The key way The Punisher: One Last Kill will lead into Brand New Day is through filling in the gaps of Frank’s story. We haven’t seen him since Daredevil: Born Again season 1’s ending, where he broke out of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force prison. Season 2 has confirmed he’s on the run but how exactly he’s spending his time is uncertain.
The special will provide additional context for Punisher’s whereabouts and what he’s recently gone through prior to teaming up with Spider-Man. You shouldn’t expect a cameo from Spider-Man, but perhaps a reference to his activities in New York will come to further tease their impending crossover.
And while plot details on The Punisher: One Last Kill are slim, its street-level story could prove to be important for Brand New Day. Punisher’s expected face-off with Ma Gnucci’s mafia family could lead him to encounter other criminal organizations in New York. With The Hand confirmed for Brand New Day, perhaps Punisher will target them, too, and find a common enemy with Spider-Man.
Importantly, One Last Kill and Brand New Day won’t feature distinctly different versions of the character. Some aspects will be toned down for a PG-13 Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but Bernthal ensured there was a strong continuity between how his character was handled. He previously told ScreenRant:
I think what was really important to me and to Destin and to Tom is that we believed that The Punisher could walk off of the Spider-Man set and could walk onto the special set, and I do believe that we achieved that.
So, on top of any potential narrative connections, The Punisher: One Last Kill may even be responsible for progressing the character’s portrayal so he can effortlessly fit into Spider-Man: Brand New Day. That gives fans plenty of reasons to check out the unofficial prequel release next month.
Release Date
July 31, 2026
Director
Destin Daniel Cretton