The MCU Is 1 Movie Away From Redeeming One Of Marvel’s Worst Mistakes

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has recently signaled its intent to address one of the Marvel brand’s biggest cinematic mistakes. Following nearly two decades of some of the best Marvel movies ever made, the franchise has repeatedly reinvigorated popularity for certain characters that had received disappointing treatments in the past.

There are many examples of this. Redeeming the mixed response to Ben Affleck’s 2003 Daredevil, the Charlie Cox iteration of the character in the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again has since restored faith in the popular hero. With one of Marvel’s most exciting releases this year, it appears that they plan to do the same with another antihero.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Lets The MCU Undo A Long-Term Marvel Movie Mistake

The first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day offers a new look at Frank Castle, also known as the Punisher, in his first big-screen outing since 2008. Among the biggest reveals in the Brand New Day trailer, the footage teases a surprisingly fun dynamic between Peter Parker and the murderous vigilante.

Considering the responses to every Punisher movie, Marvel desperately needs to live up to the character’s big-screen potential. While Frank’s story has continued on streaming, with a prominent role during the first season of Daredevil: Born Again, the character is well-suited to the big screen.

That said, the character’s big-screen outings have not sufficiently lived up to the character’s enduring popularity in comic books. The highest-rated film that Castle has yet been featured in – 2004’s The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane – was only able to secure a score of 30% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Frank Castle deserves better, and fortunately, it appears that the MCU recognizes that. In addition to a role in the upcoming Spider-Man film, Jon Bernthal will star in a Punisher special presentation that is planned for release on Disney+ this year. Hopefully, all of this signals future opportunities for more Punisher on the big screen and small screen alike.

Why The Punisher Is Perfect For Marvel’s Movie World

Frank Castle is an unusual figure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that could be one of his strengths. While there was some hesitation about toning the character down for Punisher’s appearance in Brand New Day, footage from the new trailer has made it clear that the core tenets of Frank’s character have made it into the larger universe intact.

With the heightened popularity of more violent and twisted comic book adaptations, including Invincible and The Boys, inserting a character like Punisher into the larger world of the MCU will help to make the universe feel adaptive, dynamic, and contemporary. Modern audiences love darker superhero stories, and making room for that in the MCU is a must.

Bloody violence and foul language will certainly not be featured as strongly in projects like Brand New Day. However, the trailer for that film, which shows the censoring of one of Frank’s curses with Spider-Man’s webbing, has already proven that adaptation to a PG-13 rating does not have to change Punisher’s character at any fundamental level.

In recent years, there have been many R-rated comic book movies, many of which have shown the versatility of these darker and more transgressive figures when shared between more family-friendly projects. Deadpool & Wolverine was an enormous R-rated hit for Disney, but characters like Hugh Jackman’s Logan have not felt watered down in PG-13 movies like X-Men.

The Punisher is one of the best Marvel characters, and it is exciting that the MCU is finally bringing him back to the big screen where he belongs. With a strong performance by Jon Bernthal already having been demonstrated on both Netflix and Disney+, this iteration of the popular character can help to redeem the character’s mixed cinematic history.