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The Punisher has always been a good foil for Spider-Man. Both are driven by the pain of losing family to violence, but they channel that pain in very different ways. With Jon Bernthal appearing as Frank Castle in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, he’s had to tone down some of the more violent tendencies to match the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man tone of the movie. However, Tom Holland would be up for switching things up and seeing what an R-rated Spider-Man could look like.

“I would love to pop up in one of [Punisher’s] shows,” Tom Holland said in an interview to promote Spider-Man: Brand New Day. “Let’s see what an R-rated version of Spider-Man looks like. I’m so grateful for Jon for taking the leap and being part of the film, and I would love to repay the favour.”

There is absolutely a great show in the idea of a Spider-Man who stops pulling his punches and starts doing some serious damage to the villains he is fighting, though we also like the idea that an R-rated Spider-Man is just him having one scene where he starts screaming profanities at Punisher but then immediately apologizes when he calms down again. Kind of like when you stub your toe on the table in the middle of the night.

We’re getting to see what the MCU Punisher looks like in a PG-13 movie this summer when Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters on July 31, 2026. Maybe someday in the future we’ll get to see Tom Holland as an R-rated Spider-Man as well.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst
• Our weekly Marvel insider's column, Marvel Matters