What's Up, Moustache? #4 | Punishing, Avenging... Bonding?

Vigilantes with skull themed body armour and radioactive mops, as well as a possible new candidate for the role of 007. It seems we have a lot to talk about.

First off; Spider-Man may be making a new friend.

Oh the irony... Peter Parker's first solo outing since he made the world forget about him. His first without a super-duper, teched-out Stark suit, and he's going up against a vigilante with more ammunition than the US Marine Corp. That's right, Jon Bernthal is said to be appearing in Spider-Man: Brand New Day as Frank Castle. Do we know what he's doing? Not really, no. Does it matter? Absolutely not! As long as it involves Frank decimating legions of villains with wilful abandon, whilst engaging in hilarious repartee with Tom Holland's Wall-Crawler.

This is going to be a lot of fun! We've already enjoyed seeing Bernthal's Punisher fight with and alongside Charlie Cox's Daredevil, and now he's finally getting the chance to bring the character to the big screen and into the wider MCU. Will he be as violent and 'R Rated'? That remains to be seen. Although they will undoubtedly tone things down a little. However, I think it would be a mistake to totally sanitise his appearance. They managed full on R-Rated carnage with Deadpool & Wolverine and Daredevil: Born Again. Granted, one is set in a very dark corner of the MCU, and the other is a streaming series for Disney+, but surely Mr Feige and his merry band can find a happy middle ground.

The real question is what will bring them together? Will Frank be looking to take out the newly anonymous Spider-Man? Or will they come to blows or at least cross paths in the pursuit of an as yet unnamed villain? Either way, seeing these two major Marvel characters finally meet is definitely something to look forward to. And the fact that Holland and Bernthal already have a Marvel connected working relationship is a bonus. But will Frank bring his red-horned friend with him? Charlie Cox's cameo in No Way Home was both a cheeky nod and highly amusing - not that Mr Murdock would necessarily remember. Anyway, who else would you want to see referee between Spider-Man and the Punisher?

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently set for release on 31st July 2026.

We have a Red Band trailer for the long awaited remake of The Toxic Avenger, and it looks to be exactly what fans will want from this re-imagining of the classic B-movie about a suddenly empowered underdog dishing out his own brand of radioactive vengeance. Unsurprisingly, things get bloody, and fast. In fact, the trailer is chock-full of delightfully over the top, gory chaos - even the pets aren't safe!

After an amusing false start we are introduced to Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) and his son, Wade (Jacob Tremblay). They're a little down after the loss of Shelley (presumably Wade's mother), and it would appear that the boy is none too happy with his father's depressed state, or his desire to avoid conflict, and he's not afraid to show it. One of several reasons why I think this is going to be a hilarious pairing, especially after Winston's inevitable mutation. Just from the trailer it's clear they have great chemistry, and it will no doubt be rather amusing watching the father attempt to rebuild his relationship with his son while becoming a local hero.

As for Winston's new appearance, the makeup effects used to transform him into 'Toxie' are fantastic. Although it's not actually Dinklage under there, it's another actor named Luisa Guerreiro, who learned to mimic Dinklage's movements. The prosthetics are the perfect blend of nasty and rubbery, harking back to the original, but with a few tweaks. I hate to think how long all of that took to apply, let alone what it's like to work in, but it's definitely worth it. Toxie is haunting, but also kind of funny looking. On the plus side, he's both bulletproof and incredibly strong - as a few guys find out when Toxie literally rips them to pieces - not to mention the fact he's lethal with his newly transformed mop. The visual effects that bring all this chaos to life are pretty good too, but they've got a bit of a low budget look that's in-keeping with the movie's B movie origins.

The only major characters we don't get much of a look at are the villains; Bob and Fritz Garbinger (Kevin Bacon & Elijah Wood). Bob is the slimy CEO planning to somehow make money by poisoning the people in Toxie's town, and Fritz - who looks like a cross between Gollum from Lord of the Rings and Danny DeVito's Penguin from Batman Returns - is his right hand. Whatever they're up to, lets hope the movie is less of a commentary on corporate greed and more gruesome action/comedy.

The Toxic Avenger hits cinemas on 29th August.

There has been talk that Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge, Lanterns, Mufasa) may be a potential candidate for the role of 007. I'm sure that's a very long list, and a highly competitive one at that. But Pierre could be an interesting choice. He certainly impressed many of us as Terry the highly skilled marine in Netflix's Rebel Ridge.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is said to be the favourite for the role. Not only has he recently signed a deal with 007 watch maker, Omega, to be one of their ambassadors - as if those beautiful watches needed ambassadors. Also, when asked by a Deadline reporter at the 28 Years Later premiere what he was working on next, he gave a cryptic answer before being pulled away by his entourage. His exact words were: "I can't talk about it". 

As much as Taylor-Johnson would likely make a good Bond, I genuinely think they should do something different with the character. The world has changed a lot since Ian Fleming wrote his novels, and it's only right that the character change too. Taking the character and the movies in a whole new direction is one of the things that made Daniel Craig's run as Bond so successful. And much like his introduction, Craig's retirement from the role also marked the beginning of a new era for Fleming's super spy, so why not shake things up a little? 

With Amazon taking full ownership and control of James Bond, and new people running the show, no one really knows what the franchise will look like moving forward. But a new and lesser known actor wearing the tuxedo could breathe new life into the character. I think Aaron Pierre fits that bill nicely. He's got a few good performances under his belt, looks good in a tux (see below), and thanks to Rebel Ridge we know he's got the intensity and physicality. It's definitely fun watching him kick ass and take names. The only question is whether he'd be able to balance playing 007 with his commitment to the upcoming Lanterns. 

Any thoughts on Punisher meets Spider-Man, The Toxic Avenger or the new James Bond? Leave a comment below or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads. You can also email us at moviemoustache@gmail.com.