Marvel Studios’s Next Special Will Star The Punisher

The current king of the Castle, Jon Bernthal, is cowriting the special with Reinaldo Marcus Green for release next year

Through Daredevil: Born Again’s first two episodes, which were released March 4 on Disney+, Jon Bernthal hasn’t made his return as Frank Castle aka The Punisher just yet, but newly-elected New York City Mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) did allude to him as one of the city’s problem vigilantes. But even when all is said and done and he puts in his appearances in this season, he’ll be back. He’s not getting his full-blown spinoff series back, but the character will be the focus of Marvel Studios (and Marvel Television)’s first Special Presentation since the format began with Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special in 2022.

Bernthal is not only starring by reprising the role but cowriting the special, working alongside Reinaldo Marcus Green, who will also direct. The special will be released alongside or at least in conjunction with Daredevil: Born Again’s second season, which began production last week, next year. Bernthal’s iteration of the Punisher debuted on the second season of the Netflix Daredevil series which ran in 2016, while the Punisher series that came from it ended up with a release relationship with the mother series reminiscent of what would come after with The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian. Never airing seasons in the same year, The Punisher’s were released in 2017 and 2019, before and after Daredevil’s last. Bernthal’s return as the Punisher for Born Again was part of the series’s original vision, being cast nearly two years ago before the much-discussed creative overhaul during the dual strikes. In the weeks leading up to premiere, it was revealed the series lost an episode of its original 18-episode order, leaving what became season 2 with just 8 episodes. One can easily believe that while it probably isn’t officially the case considering the usage of “standalone”, it’s easy to consider that this is where that “lost” episode went.

Jon Bernthal Will Reprise His Role As The Punisher In 'Daredevil: Born Again' For Disney+

At the SXSW premiere of The Accountant 2 on Saturday, a film in which he reprises the role of Braxton, the brother to The Accountant played by previous Daredevil Ben Affleck, Bernthal opened up about the special for the first time, saying “I care very deeply about Frank, I’m really grateful that I’m getting the opportunity to tell the story that I think the fans deserve. We’re giving it our all and we’re trying to tell a Frank Castle story that we’re going to turn our back on the audience — it’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be light, and I think it’s the version that this character deserves and I’m just beyond honored and grateful that we get the opportunity.”

And because tone concerns still exist despite what the first two episodes of Born Again brought to the table as well as after the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, Bernthal is still asked how it would compare to his series, and he responded, “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.” He would then add “It will not be Punisher-lite, I promise you that.”

Daredevil: Born Again will continue to release its new first-season episodes on Tuesdays at 9 PM, with only March 25 containing a release of more than one episode, a double that week. The first season finale is scheduled for April 15, making way for the second and final season of Andor the following week.

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Sources: The Hollywood Reporter (1, 2), The Wrap