According to a recent rumor, Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) will be working alongside a mysterious female partner in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, who will serve as back-up for The Punisher as he attempts to bring Mac Gargan, aka The Scorpion (Michael Mando), down during what is believed to be the movie's opening action set piece.
A number of female characters have joined forces with Castle in the comics, and even wore the vigilante's signature skull logo as "Lady Punisher," including Jenny Cesare, Lynn Michaels and Rachel Cole-Alves.
A lot of fans seem to think that Cole-Alves is the most likely possibility given her strong alliance with Castle in the comics, but John Rocha shared a key detail about The Punisher's partner during last night's episode of The Hot Mic that is sure to open speculation up to a wider range of characters.
Rocha has heard that Castle's "sidekick" is actually a Black woman. Now, it's always possible that one of the characters above could be reimagined, but is there a chance it could be Detective Mercedes Kelly "Misty" Knight?
This character was previously played by Simone Missick in the Netflix Marvel shows, and emerged as a strong fan-favorite. Knight has also teamed-up with Castle in the comics, and introducing (or reintroducing) her in Brand New Day could lay the groundwork for a future Heroes for Hire project.
There are obviously plenty of other possibilities, so be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section down below.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will also star Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, and Tramell Tillman in an undisclosed role. Sadie Sink's role is still a mystery, but we have heard that there will be some kind of twist relating to her character.
Returning alongside Tom Holland as Peter Parker will be Zendaya as MJ and Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds.
“I’m spending my time exploring the next stage of this amazing character with a team of the most incredible artists in the world," said director Destin Daniel Cretton during CinemaCon. "We’re all, just daily, nerding out over the suit, how to swing, how to create an event, an emotional story, and a ride that we haven’t really seen before"
"It's day one — my fourth-ever day one on Spider-Man," Holland said in the recently-released BTS video. "You know, it's funny. Putting the suit on, it feels different this time, somehow. It's also the first time we've ever had fans on set for day one, so it's really exciting to share this with them. We've got some familiar faces on set. You know, Im just going to do my best, hopefully get it right. No pressure."
Spider-Man 4 was pushed back a week from July 24, 2026 to July 31, 2026.