The Marvel brand has made reinventing itself part of its main appeal as every character in their arsenal has seen countless iterations on paper, while chosen few are brought to the big screen. Even in Marvel’s top tier pantheon of fan favorites, most characters (besides Logan) have been portrayed by multiple different actors over the last 40+ years. The Punisher is one of the edgiest characters that we’ve seen brought to life multiple time starting in the 80’s and it seems like with Frank Castle, the fourth time is the charm. It’s been just over a decade since Bernthal first donned the role of the uncompromising and ruthless vigilante in the season 2 premiere of “Daredevil” on Netflix. Seeing Punisher, Daredevil and the rest of Marvel’s TV side unceremoniously cancelled is arguably one of Marvel Studios largest mistakes as there’s an argument to Marvel making a deal with Netflix that kept the Netflix corner of the MCU functional.
Bernthals iconic run as Frank Castle on Daredevil earned him his own two season series and fans never forgot. The character finally returned in “Daredevil: Born Again” last year and is on the verge of possibly having his biggest year yet. With ‘Born Again’ season 2 premiering tonight, Marvel decided to capitalize on that momentum by announcing a release date and a title for the previously reported on Punisher Special. Sadly, Bernthal will reportedly not have a significant role in ‘Born Again’ season 2, although it’s possible there will be at least a surprise cameo or phone call.
The Punisher is one of the edgiest characters that we’ve seen brought to life multiple time starting in the 80’s and it seems like with Frank Castle, the fourth time is the charm.”
With at least Jessica Jones returning as well as a heavily rumored Luke Cage appearance, how much screentime the Punisher could’ve actually had if Bernthal wasn’t too busy to shoot season 2 will never be known. The timing of the release date does suggest that the events of ‘Born Again’ season 2 will somehow impact or tie into Frank Castle’s life as the special is set to release on May 12th, just 1 week after the ‘Born Again’ season 2 finale airs on May 5th. There have been some unconfirmed rumors that The events of ‘Born Again’ season 2 will leave the city in chaos and what happens in the Punisher Special will be a bridge from ‘Born Again’ to the next Spidey movie (also NYC based). It’s unclear whether there will be any Daredevil or Defender character crossovers in the special, but one can only hope.
The official title of the Punisher special is: “The Punisher: One Last Kill”, which by design seems final even though we know we’ll see the Punisher again. First, Castle will be back in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” which will also feature the Hulk/Dr. Banner and a slew of classic Spidey villains. This will be the first time that the Punisher has appeared on the Big Screen since Ray Stevenson (RIP) reloaded into the role for “Punisher: Warzone” in 2008. There is also a guaranteed ‘Born Again’ season 3 which could also feature the character. Could ‘One Last Kill’ indicate that the Punisher is giving up killing? We don’t think so as Bernthal has been adamant about the character not being Disney-fied, but there are ways to keep a character dark without murder so it’s not impossible.
There’s also a chance the Punisher dies in his special and ‘Brand New Day’ takes place before the special, but that doesn’t seem likely as it would kill the characters momentum in the Spidey movie. The official synopsis for the project was also just released: “As Frank Castle’s searches for meaning beyond revenge, an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight.” We are curious about the unexpected force and wonder if it ties to the greater universe, or a someone from Castle’s past, like Microchip who was played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who know plays the Thing. Frank also has strong ties to Karen (Deborah Ann Woll), who could somehow factor into the special. It is confirmed that Jason R. Moore will be returning as Curtis, Frank’s veteran friend and we’re assuming he’ll play a significant support role in Frank’s life as he is a staple from the original series.
There have been reports that the Special will be adapting the storyline from the cult classic Punisher storyline “Welcome Back, Frank”, which came out in 2000 and was made by creator of “The Boys”, Garth Ennis. “Welcome Back, Frank” depicts Frank taking on the Gnucci crime syndicate. If the other reports are to be believed, this would mean that the Gnucci’s replace the Kingpin in New York City. According to the reports, Frank takes on classic villain Ma Gnucci and ultimately burns her alive in her mansion – which creates a massive power vacuum. This vacuum allegedly allows a handful of dangerous villains to rise: Tombstone, Boomerang and Scorpion amongst others. It’s also possible the Hand, which is deep in Daredevil and Defender lore will appear in the wake of Frank’s execution of the second Boss of New York as they have ben seen in the ‘Brand New Day’ trailer.
We are also hopeful for another iconic Punisher villain, but it’s anyone’s guess. Bullseye has faced off against the character a bunch of times and the 2 even had a miniseries versus each other, so Bullseye could make an appearance is ‘One Last Kill’,, if he survives ‘Born Again’ seasons 2. The special will roughly be 60 minutes and it’s likely that there will be a trailer forthcoming sometime in the next month.
The project was written by Bernthal, along with Director Reinaldo Marcus Green, who worked with Bernthal back in 2022 on “We Own This City” for HBO. ‘One Last Kill’ also notably hired an Academy Awad Winning Cinematographer, Robert Elstwit, who won his Best Cinematography Osca for Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood” in 2007. For now, we’ll have to wait for May 12 to get answers, which is coincidentally the same date our massive rewatch of the entire MCU+ in chronological order starts for 220 straight days until “Avengers: Doomsday”. Follow us here for more details on this 480+ hour binge, the biggest in Marvel history!
What do you think? how will Punisher standout against Spidey and the Hulk? Who will be the big bad for Frank’s special? Could the Punisher die? Which Punisher went to the void and left his artillery for the cause?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
