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Marvel TV chief says Spider-Man: Brand New Day will feel like "the same New York" as the Punisher special, but don't count on "major plot points" to transfer over
Marvel's Head of Streaming, Television and Animation Brad Winderbaum recently spoke to the likenesses and differences between Disney+'s Punisher special and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the next two MCU projects for Jon Bernthal, AKA Frank Castle
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Will the Disney+ Punisher special lead directly into the character's appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? According to Marvel's Head of Streaming, Television and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, the answer is complicated. While Marvel execs want their respective settings to "feel like the same city," (New York, in case you somehow didn't know), the tone and even plots may feel quite different.
Let's back up. The quote comes from an interview Winderbaum did with YouTuber Brandon Davis, in which the Phase Hero host asked the longtime Marvel exec for behind-the-scenes info on the two projects. Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle, remember, will be making his bigscreen MCU debut in the upcoming Spidey film, while continuing his smallscreen journey in a Disney+ one-shot.
"Spoiler," Winderbaum quipped, "He survives the special."
Good one, Brad. On the subject of how the two projects interlinked, though, Winderbaum had more to say.
"It's exactly the same as anything in the MCU," the producer continued, "It's a it's a small, tight-knit group of producers. Wherever the characters cross or worlds cross; you're looking at each other's work. That doesn't mean that there's these major plot points that are set up in one project and pay off in the next project. It's more about just making sure it feels like one universe. That doesn't mean you you have to stick to the same tone or or genre. Obviously, we bounce around all the time from comedy to drama to live action, animation, everything. But you know, you want New York to feel like New York, like the same New York."
How do they do that? Well as you might imagine, their first step is to look to the place where all the MCU comes from in the first place.
"Like many things we do," concluded Winderbaum, "the answers are are in the source material. They're in the comics. You can read a Daredevil comic and a Spider-Man comic and you're looking at two completely different lenses of the world, and of New York City. [...] you want it to feel like the same city even though they're they're completely different in tone."
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters July 31, 2026. The Punisher special is expected the same year.
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