BRAND NEW DAY Featurette Reveals Peter Parker and Frank Castle’s Surprising Big Brother-Little Brother Dynamic — GeekTyrant

One of the more interesting aspects of Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been seeing the dynamic between Peter Parker and Frank Castle, and how the could work together.

Spider-Man and The Punisher couldn’t be more different. One is Marvel’s optimistic, wisecracking neighborhood hero, while the other is a brutal vigilante who solves problems with a level of force Spidey would never consider.

But a newly released featurette suggests that clash of personalities may be exactly what makes their dynamic so entertaining.

The featurette highlights the chemistry between Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal, and it sounds like their real-life friendship played a major role in shaping the relationship between Peter Parker and Frank Castle in the film.

Holland explained: “There’s no secret that I absolutely love Jon Bernthal. When we got to set, Jon and I started riffing, and it kind of became this really funny big brother little brother type relationship. Destin just let us run with it.”

Holland and Bernthal have known each other for more than a decade after meeting while filming Pilgrimage in 2015. It was during that production that both actors were chasing their future Marvel roles.

Bernthal recalled: “Tom made my first Punisher tape, and I made his first Spider-Man audition tape.” Holland went on to share how meaningful it is to finally bring those characters together on screen:

“There’s always been a drive for me to share the screen with him as these characters; the fact that we get to do it now, in this movie, is so exciting.”

That history apparently gave director Destin Daniel Cretton something special to work with while making the film. Rather than forcing every interaction onto the page, he leaned into the friendship the actors already had.

Cretton said: “The type of chemistry that these two have bubbles up in unexpected ways that cannot be written. It’s my favorite rush when we have captured a moment that would not be able to be replicated.”

Fans already got a glimpse of that relationship in the recently released trailer. Frank Castle appears frustrated by Peter Parker’s reluctance to cross certain lines, creating a fun contrast between Spider-Man’s moral code and Punisher’s far more aggressive methods.

It’s easy to imagine Frank viewing Peter as an inexperienced kid who still has a lot to learn, while Peter struggles to understand Frank’s extreme approach to justice.

As different as they are, it looks like circumstances may force them to work together. The film throws a dangerous collection of villains at Spider-Man, including a mysterious threat that nobody can see.

Facing enemies like that could leave Peter with little choice but to accept help from someone as dangerous and unpredictable as Frank Castle.

What makes this team-up even more interesting is where Peter is emotionally when the story begins. The movie picks up after Doctor Strange erased the world’s memory of Peter Parker’s identity.

MJ, Ned, and everyone else who once knew him have moved on without any memory of who he is. Peter is isolated, directionless, and pouring everything he has into being Spider-Man.

That leaves him in what appears to be one of the darkest chapters of his life, which makes the idea of Frank Castle stepping into a strange mentor-like role even more compelling.

Whether that relationship becomes a source of guidance or creates even bigger problems remains to be seen, but it certainly looks like one of the movie’s most entertaining elements.

If this featurette is any indication, the pairing of Spider-Man and The Punisher could end up being one of the more fun elements of Brand New Day. The contrast between Holland’s hopeful hero and Bernthal’s hardened vigilante has all the ingredients for some great character moments, sharp humor, and plenty of conflict.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31.