Marvel Studios' The Punisher Special Presentation has now officially wrapped filming in New York, and a video featuring star Jon Bernthal giving an impassioned speech to his cast and crew has been shared online via photographer Steve Sands.
The video sees Bernthal, who reprises his role as Frank Castle from the recent Daredevil: Born Again, thanking those around him for coming together to complete what he describes as an "impossible" 12-day shoot.
The crew was most likely under some pressure to get the Special in the can as quickly as possible, as Bernthal is expected to leave for London this week to begin filming his scenes as the Punisher for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The Odyssey actor is covering his costume here, but we got a close-up look at Castle's new tactical skull vest yesterday (the photo is included below).
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."