Videos from the set of The Punisher Special Presentation have found their way online today, and Jon Bernthal is back in costume as the violent, unhinged Frank Castle.
He can be seen gunning down some baddies in a car before fighting his way into Ma Gnucci's restaurant. Decked out in the classic Punisher costume, he's also rocking a trench coat that completes the look (the beard, meanwhile, immediately brings back memories of Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto's acclaimed comic book run)
When we last saw Frank, he was being held captive by Mayor Wilson Fisk, but clearly completed his attempted escape. It remains to be seen why he's targeting Gnucci rather than the Kingpin, though he may lend the Man Without Fear another helping hand in Daredevil: Born Again season 2.
That never felt like Frank's fight, though, and he only returned at Karen's request to stop the Anti-Vigilante Task Force from killing Matt Murdock.
Reinaldo Marcus Green and Bernthal wrote the special, with the former set to direct. While some have expressed disappointment that this isn't a movie or multi-episode TV series, we couldn't have imagined getting a Special Presentation for The Punisher even a few years ago, and it is expected to set the stage for his role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
In other words, Frank fans will be eating well in 2026 following the vigilante's extended absence from our screens after his Netflix series was among those cancelled by the streamer in 2019.
"He exists very strongly inside me, and I care about that character deeply," Bernthal said of his MCU debut/return last year. "I also know that it’s absolutely essential that if we do it, we do it right, and we have real sacred integrity to the source material and to what is at the core of Frank."
"I think there’s a reason why that character has resonated as deeply and strongly as he has," he continued. "In the hearts and minds of comic book fans and first responders and people in the military and people all over the globe. I think there’s a little bit of Frank Castle in everybody. He exists very strongly inside me and I care about that character deeply."
Later asked how the standalone special will compare to the Netflix series, Bernthal teased, "It’s going to be dark; Frank has no interest in breaking out the darkness. It’s not going to be easy. I don’t know if that’s the Netflix tone then that’s what it’s going to be. It will not be Punisher-lite, I promise you that."
The Punisher Special Presentation will premiere on Disney+ in 2026, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day set to swing into theaters on July 31, 2026. As noted, it's unclear whether Frank will return in Daredevil: Born Again, but that series returns to Disney+ next March.