Jon Bernthal does not hold back in praising Tom Holland ahead of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The two first crossed paths on a medieval Irish drama over a decade ago and are now headlining two of 2026's biggest films back to back. When Bernthal recently opened up about it, the words that followed sounded less like a co-star talking and more like a brother writing home.

Jon Bernthal called Tom Holland the greatest to ever do it, and he meant every word. The two go back to 2015, when Holland was just 17 and filming Pilgrimage in Ireland. Bernthal watched a teenager carry impossible confidence while remaining genuinely warm and grounded.

"Just deeply kind and good. He comes from a wonderful family. I love seeing what's become of him," Bernthal said on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

He then added, "Now, more than 10 years later, I made his Spider-Man audition tape. He made my Punisher audition tape when we were in Ireland doing a movie. We got to do back-to-back movies with The Odyssey and Spider-Man. It was a real gift for me," cementing just how full circle this journey truly is.

That audition tape exchange in Ireland was the beginning of something bigger than either realised. Pilgrimage in 2017 was their first collaboration, where Holland played Brother Diarmuid and Bernthal played the brooding, silent fighter known only as The Mute. Now, over a decade later, the two share the screen in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, releasing July 17, 2026, where Holland plays Telemachus and Bernthal plays Menelaus, King of Sparta.

While the friendship began in medieval Ireland, the real blockbuster chapter opens with Spider-Man and Punisher finally sharing the same universe.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day sees Jon Bernthal and Tom Holland reunite on the big screen

Spider-Man: Brand New Day picks up four years after the events of No Spider-Man: Way Home. Peter Parker, now completely forgotten by the world following Doctor Strange's spell, has abandoned any semblance of a normal life and gone all in on being Spider-Man full-time. Enter Frank Castle, the Punisher, whose arrival adds a whole new layer of pressure to an already crumbling Parker. A dangerous evolution in his powers begins threatening his own existence, while a mysterious new wave of crimes signals the arrival of one of the most formidable threats Parker has ever faced.

The cast surrounding Tom Holland is stacked, including Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Sadie Sink, Michael Mando as Scorpion, and Mark Ruffalo as Hulk. Jon Bernthal returns as Castle, and the two reportedly share multiple scenes packed with tension that evolve into a sharp, funny big-brother dynamic that the two built largely through improvisation. Holland himself has called it one of his favourite dynamics as Spider-Man yet. The film releases July 31, 2026, and if the chemistry is half as real on screen as it is off, audiences are in for something genuinely special.

What are your thoughts on Jon Bernthal and Tom Holland's decade-long friendship? Let us know in the comments.

Written by

Shraddha Priyadarshi

Edited by

Aliza Siddiqui