After leaving his ultra-violent fingerprints on Daredevil: Born Again, Frank Castle is set to return for his own Disney+ Punisher Special Presentation.
Star Jon Bernthal will co-write the script with his We Own This City director Reinaldo Marcus Green, who is also on board to helm the Special.
"It's like a shotgun blast of a story, but also has all the pathos and emotion that you want out of a Frank Castle story," Marvel's head of streaming Bard Winderbaum said after the project was made official. "It's so exciting."
Winderbaum went on to reveal that the idea for a Punisher standalone story manifested during production on Born Again, which saw Matt Murdock team-up with his old frenemy to take down members of Wilson Fisk's anti-vigilante task force.
"Bernthal is a generational actor," Winderbaum added. "He's incredible what he brings to all the roles he plays, but particularly Frank Castle. And he's a great writer. He knows the character inside and out.... Also, I love Punisher, but I love Jon's Punisher in particular. The idea that he's in the MCU and can bring that to the greater universe, especially the more grounded street-level stuff, is a huge opportunity and, as a fan, the greatest thing ever."
Plot details are still under wraps, but thanks to a new report from Daniel Richtman, we may know which villain Castle will be facing off with.
According to the scooper, the project is currently casting for a "female crime boss villain." The Punisher has found himself in the crosshairs of several women in the comics over the years, but we'd say there's a pretty good chance this is Isabella Carmela Magdalena Gnucci, aka "Ma Gnucci."
Gnucci was the ruthless head of a crime family who made her debut in the fourth issue of Garth Ennis' Marvel Knights run. She came close to ending The Punisher's crusade on a number of occasions, hiring formidable henchmen such as The Russian to track down her relentless enemy.
There's been speculation that Born Again's post-credits scene could lead directly into this Special, but if Ma Gnucci is indeed the villain, we probably won't spend much time with Frank making his escape from Fisk;s cage.
The Punisher Special Presentation is expected to premiere in 2026 along with the second season of Born Again.
In Marvel Television's Daredevil: Born Again, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a blind lawyer with heightened abilities is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) pursues his own political endeavors in New York. When their past identities begin to emerge, both men find themselves on an inevitable collision course.
The show also stars Margarita Levieva, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, with Ayelet Zurer and Jon Bernthal. Dario Scardapane is on board as showrunner.
Episodes are directed by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, Michael Cuesta, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, and David Boyd; and executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Sana Amanat, Chris Gary, Dario Scardapane, Christopher Ord & Matthew Corman, and Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead.