Will 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Be R-Rated Now That Punisher's Return Is Confirmed?
It’s a Marvel superhero movie, so the “adult” rating is unlikely; however, a recent casting update for Spider-Man: Brand New Day makes things a little spicier.
Jon Bernthal has been confirmed to return as Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and this update is as exciting as it is potentially game-changing for the future of Tom Holland’s web-slinger.
Bernthal first appeared as Punisher in Netflix’s 2016 show Daredevil, then proceeded to his own spinoff titled The Punisher, and made a comeback in Daredevil: Born Again. He will also appear in the upcoming second season of the Matt Murdock show, and now, it seems that his place in the MCU is secured.
But the thing is: Punisher has historically been associated with mature superhero projects. Daredevil: Born Again has featured some of the most disturbing and gory scenes in the MCU.
Now that Punisher is officially confirmed as part of the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man franchise, does that mean that we will see an R-rated Spider-Man movie in the MCU?
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Is Yet to Receive Its Rating
Officially, Spider-Man: Brand New Day doesn’t have a rating yet, and even Punisher’s participation doesn’t guarantee an R rating.
“The comics manage to have Punisher jumping between different characters runs, events, etc. across a variety of tones and age ratings just fine. Similarly to Deadpool, the movies/streaming side of things is the exception rather than the norm for the character. Most times they are firmly rated T for Teen like the rest of the Marvel comics line,” explained Redditor Swoopmott.
However, most fans suggest that the main audience for the upcoming movie are adults who grew up watching and reading Spider-Man, and therefore, they would expect or at least be totally on board with a more mature rating.
Still, MCU Spider-Man hasn’t been particularly associated with blood and gore that usually come with Punisher.
“I'm not saying I can't imagine the characters together, but that I can't imagine these current MCU iterations of these characters together in the current Spider-Man movies. Just like it'd be a major deviation to put Ryan Reynolds extra vulgar Deadpool in a family movie,” said Redditor Johnny_Poppyseed.
Our Take: Punisher Is a Great Addition to Spider-Man Even If It’s PG-13
No matter what rating the movie receives in the end, fans are generally excited to welcome Punisher to the Spider-Man universe — and so are we.
Peter Parker and Frank Castle are two very different kinds of vigilantes, but it’s exactly when things can become just as interesting as they were in Deadpool & Wolverine. Plus, despite their differences, Peter and Frank have a lot of common ground: Peter became Spider-Man after losing his parents (and then both mother figure and father figure), while Frank suited up as Punisher after having his wife and kids killed in front of him.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is scheduled to release on July 31, 2026.
