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Jon Bernthal reveals the difference between making Marvel movies and TV: ‘I was blown away’
Actor Jon Bernthal, known for playing The Punisher across Marvel's Netflix and Disney+ TV shows since 2016, has spoken about the marked contrast between working on Marvel television and his first Marvel feature film. He appears as Frank Castle alongside Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, out on 31 July, and told Polygon that the scale, resources and pace of a big-budget film production left him genuinely astonished compared with the constraints of TV.
Bernthal explained that Marvel TV productions attempt "movie-level action on a TV budget and timeframe", forcing a fast, high-pressure pace, whereas the film gave the crew far greater bandwidth to get scenes right, including stopping to rework sequences until they worked. He praised Holland, director Destin Daniel Cretton and producer Amy Pascal for prioritising quality over speed, and separately revealed that Spider-Man is the Marvel hero he has always most wanted to share the screen with.
In short
- Jon Bernthal contrasts Marvel TV's rushed pace with film's bigger budget and time
- His Punisher appears with Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, out 31 July
- Bernthal says Spider-Man is the superhero he's always wanted to team up with
Explained simply
Jon Bernthal is an American actor best known for playing Frank Castle, a vigilante character called The Punisher, across Marvel television series on Netflix and Disney+ since 2016. Through his appearances in these shows, he became a familiar figure to audiences of Marvel's television output.
He has now been cast in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, a Marvel feature film coming out on 31 July, appearing alongside Tom Holland's Spider-Man. This move from television to a major motion picture has prompted him to discuss the contrasts between working on these different types of Marvel projects.
Marvel operates significant television and film divisions, each with different production approaches, budgets and schedules. Familiarity with how these operations differ provides useful context for understanding Bernthal's reflections on his move from one environment to the other.