Spider-Man 2: Marvel Fans Missed Thomas Jane's Punisher Cameo - Here's Why
It appears that Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) wasn't the only one that got away in a pivotal scene at the end of the 2004 blockbuster "Spider-Man 2." In the last scene of the film, Mary Jane jilts J. Jonah Jameson's (J.K. Simmons) son, John Jameson (Daniel Gillies), at the altar so she can be with her true love, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) — but another seemingly familiar face pops up in the scene.
The DVD commentary for "Spider-Man 2" notes that there was supposed to be a Marvel superhero cameo in the scene as Mary Jane sprints through an outdoor mall area in New York City in her wedding dress. However, the plan for Thomas Jane to appear as Frank Castle — aka "The Punisher" — from the 2004 film of the same name fell apart, so apparently, director Sam Raimi decided to make do with the person he had on set.
Sony Pictures solely distributed the "Spider-Man" films at that point, while "The Punisher" was released by Lionsgate. That meant Jane couldn't contractually appear in "Spider-Man 2," so instead of having the actual Punisher actor make a cameo, Jane's stunt double appeared on-screen during the scene in question. And it just so happened that he bears an uncanny resemblance to the actor himself.
Jane's turn as Frank Castle began and ended with the first Punisher movie
Since "The Punisher" was released in theaters on April 16, 2004 — approximately six weeks before the debut of "Spider-Man 2" on the big screen on June 30, 2004 — Thomas Jane had plenty of time to establish for moviegoers that he was the big screen's new Frank Castle and his character would have identifiable in Sam Raimi's second Spidey chapter. One big difference between the films, though, was that "The Punisher" was darker in tone, which is why Jane thinks the film had difficulty at the box office.
While it hasn't been confirmed publicly that the contractual problems that held up Jane's cameo in "Spider-Man 2" were due to two different studios owning the rights to the Spider-Man and The Punisher characters, it certainly presents a scenario with sound reason. After all, while Kevin Feige explained how the partnership between Sony and Marvel opened creative doors — allowing the studio's distributor, Disney, to share Spider-Man with Sony — the deal didn't come together without conflict.
No matter the case, Jane's scrapped Castle-Punisher cameo in "Spider-Man 2" led to a missed opportunity for the actor to play the character on the big screen one more time. Jane exited "The Punisher" sequel "Punisher: War Zone" during the film's production and explained his reasons in a note to Ain't It Cool News in 2007. Jane wrote about how committed he was to the role and ultimately why he left it: "What I won't do is spend months of my life sweating over a movie that I just don't believe in."