Following recent casting updates for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, fan art has imagined what the upcoming sequel’s battle between Spider-Man, the Punisher, and the Hulk could look like. In June and August 2025, respectively, Jon Bernthal and Mark Ruffalo were announced to be reprising their Marvel Cinematic Universe roles in Brand New Day, joining Tom Holland, who is returning as the now-anonymous Peter Parker. Speculation has suggested that Spider-Man and the Punisher might be teaming up to battle an unhinged and unadulterated Hulk, which has raised anticipation for the Phase 6 sequel.
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While set videos from the production of Spider-Man: Brand New Day seem to have shown Spider-Man fighting against the Punisher – in his new armored truck – rumors have suggested the pair will join forces in Destin Daniel Cretton’s upcoming movie. If Bruce Banner’s savage Hulk form is unleashed, over a decade after we last saw it in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, he’d pose a huge threat to these two New York-based street-level heroes. Spider-Man and the Punisher’s fight against the Hulk has now been imagined in dark new fan art shared by @70.6ix on Instagram.
What Spider-Man & Punisher’s Team-Up Means For the MCU
The partnership of Peter Parker and Frank Castle might seem to be an unlikely one at first, as the Punisher has no qualms about killing bad guys for the greater good, while Spider-Man is much more of a bona fide hero. Spider-Man will be more mature in Brand New Day, however, which could make him a more even match to the Punisher, who was most recently seen in Daredevil: Born Again season 1. Jon Bernthal will be returning as Frank Castle in a Punisher-centric Special Presentation in 2026, and is expected to appear in Daredevil: Born Again season 2.
Frank Castle’s partnership with Peter Parker could hint at a bigger role for the wall-crawler in these stories, too. Parker has already crossed paths with Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home, so it would be fantastic to see him join forces with Daredevil and Punisher in more upcoming projects, should he be allowed by Sony Pictures to have a larger role in the MCU. Spider-Man’s film rights are almost as confusing as those of the Hulk, who is still held by Universal Pictures – though this won’t stop the Avenger from appearing in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
There are hopes that the Phase 6 movie will mark Bruce Banner’s regression back into a savage version of the Hulk, following years of criticisms that the character has been nerfed in the MCU. If he does become more unhinged, it’s not hard to imagine him posing a significant threat to New York City, which would certainly constitute the combined efforts of Spider-Man, the Punisher, and maybe more street-level heroes to bring him to heel. Spider-Man could gain an unlikely ally in the Punisher in Brand New Day, which might kick-start one of the most unexpected new fan-favorite MCU partnerships.
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