Though nothing has been officially announced, reports are coming in that filming has now wrapped on Marvel Studios' The Punisher Special Presentation in New York City, and a new photo from the set reveals our best look yet at star Jon Bernthal suited-up in Frank Castle's new tactical costume.
The behind-the-scenes shot was shared by photographer Steve Sands, and it gives us a close-up look at a bearded Castle in his signature skull vest body armor.
Bernthal is expected to arrive to the set of Spider-Man: Brand New Day to begin filming his scenes as the Punisher next week, so it'll be interesting to see if he stays in the same costume or sports a different look altogether. Assuming the Disney+ Special takes place before or around the same time as Daredevil: Born Again, we'd say there's a good chance Frank will be clean-shaven for his tussle with the wall-crawler.
There have also been reports that Castle will be upgrading his arsenal appropriately in order to face-off against Spidey and The Hulk. Whether this means we'll see the vigilante in some kind of hi-tech armor remains to be seen.
Sands has also posted a longer version of yesterday set video, with a clearly worse-for-wear Castle taking down multiple assailants.
Plot details are still mostly under wraps, but some previous 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."