Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) made his long-awaited return in the first season of Daredevil: Born Again, once again joining forces with Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) to combat the forces of corruption in New York City - even though the ultra-violent vigilante's lethal form of justice didn't exactly sit well with the Man Without Fear.
After tearing through as many AVTF officers as possible, Castle found himself captured and imprisoned in one of Mayor Wilson Fisk's holding cells in the season finale. It was generally assumed that Frank would be back for Born Again season 2, but that was before The Punisher Special Presentation was announced.
Fans were understandably disappointed to learn that Castle wouldn't return to blast his way to freedom in season 2, and Vincent D'Onofrio has now responded to a particularly upset follower on social media to explain why Bernthal did not reprise the role.
"If John wasn't busy making his own hour long Punisher film and hangin with that insect we would have wanted him to join us in Season 2 for sure. Yet he had a wonderful opportunity to do the other projects and I for one can't wait to see him in those."
Will we get a storyline explanation for Frank's absence in season 2? You'll have to tune in to find out, but we can tell you that the Punisher is mentioned on more than one occasion.
Plot details for the Punisher one-shot are still mostly under wraps, but set photos seemed to confirm that Castle will indeed be facing off against Isabella Carmela Magdalena Gnucci, aka "Ma Gnucci." Judith Light is believed to have been cast as the villain, but this has yet to be made official.
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.
Bernthal also co-wrote the script with his We Own This City director Reinaldo Marcus Green, who will 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."