‘The Punisher: One Last Kill’ will premiere May 12th on Disney+.
Preview:
Jon Bernthal has confirmed the title and date for his ‘Punisher’ special episode.
‘Punisher: One Last Kill’ will land on Disney+.
The show is due on May 12.
While Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle –– AKA the vigilante called The Punisher –– was a factor in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’s first season, he’s not so involved in the second.
What’s the story of ‘The Punisher: One Last Kill’?
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher.’ Photo: Netflix.
Co-written by Bernthal and filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green (who directs), the special’s storyline has yet to be officially confirmed, but there is a logline floating around: “As Frank Castle searches for meaning beyond revenge, an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight.”
So take that for what you will!
When will ‘The Punisher: One Last Kill’ head to Disney+?
We do at least have some official details on when the new special episode will land on Disney+ – May 12.
‘The Punisher: One Last Kill’ will premiere May 12th on Disney+.
Movies and TV Shows Featuring Characters in ‘Daredevil: Born Again:’
Tom Holland arrives on the red carpet of The 90th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, March 4, 2018. Credit/Provider: Phil McCarten / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: A.M.P.A.S.
Preview:
Tom Holland has suffered a mild injury on the ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ set.
He had a fall while performing a stunt.
The movie’s release date is not affected.
It’s the sort of incident to generate a “Web-Slinging Menace Comes To A Sticky End” headlines on the front page of the Daily Bugle and for J. Jonah Jameson to hope the “vigilante” had some sense knocked into him.
But yes, Spidey, AKA Peter Parker, or rather Tom Holland, the actor who plays him in the MCU, has suffered a mild concussion after a stunt went wrong on the Pinewood, England set of new outing ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’.
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According to Deadline’s reporting on the accident, Holland was performing a stunt and had a fall. He was taken to a local hospital and examined but not admitted, with instructions to rest and recuperate.
Since the movie’s shooting schedule included a lot with Holland (naturally), director Destin Daniel Cretton and the Marvel team have opted to shut down shooting for a week to let the actor get better.
Destin Daniel Cretton (director, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
Given that ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ changed things in a huge way for Holland’s Peter–– as you’ll likely recall, it ended with a spell that wiped everyone’s memory of him so as to protect the people he loves –– the storyline going forward is naturally something of a mystery.
We do at least know that Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who contributed to or wrote the previous three Spider-outings, are back on board for this one.
Who else will appear in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’?
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher.’ Photo: Netflix.
Even with Peter’s changed situation, the likes of MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) are still likely to return.
Yet with ‘Stranger Things’Sadie Sink’s casting earlier this year, that throws an interesting wrinkle in –– what if the plan is for MJ and Ned to have smaller roles while a new supporting cast rises to importance in Peter’s life?
Sink’s role being kept under wraps, and the studio will look to have it that way as long as possible.
Elsewhere, ‘The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas has also scored a role in the movie, but her character is also a mystery for now.
When will ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ be in theaters?
While you might think a production pause could have a knock-on effect to the movie’s release, we’re told that’s not the case and it’s on track to still arrive on July 31st, 2026.
Destin Daniel Cretton (director, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
Movies and TV Shows Featuring Spider-Man Characters:
In keeping with much of the other new casting (more on that below), we don’t yet know what role Tillman will be playing –– whether it’ll be a Marvel character, someone new, or the usual MCU spin on someone from the comics.
Destin Daniel Cretton (director, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
Given that ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ changed things in a huge way for Holland’s Peter–– as you’ll likely recall, it ended with a spell that wiped everyone’s memory of him so as to protect the people he loves –– the storyline going forward is naturally something of a mystery.
We do at least know that Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who contributed to or wrote the previous three Spider-outings, are back on board for this one.
Who else will appear in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’?
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher.’ Photo: Netflix.
Even with Peter’s changed situation, the likes of MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) are still likely to return.
Yet with ‘Stranger Things’Sadie Sink’s casting earlier this year, that throws an interesting wrinkle in –– what if the plan is for MJ and Ned to have smaller roles while a new supporting cast rises to importance in Peter’s life?
Sink’s role being kept under wraps, and the studio will look to have it that way as long as possible.
Elsewhere, ‘The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas has also scored a role in the movie, but her character is also a mystery for now.
(Left) Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Smart Hulk in Disney+’s ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.’ (Right) Tom Holland in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ Photo: Marvel Studios.
Preview:
Mark Ruffalo is aboard ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’.
Destin Daniel Cretton is directing.
Tom Holland is returning to star as the titular web-crawler.
Looks like Peter Parker has another patriarchal figure headed his way.
How the Hulk fits into the story remains to be seen –– with the likes of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher around, Peter will likely need some help. And who knows whether there will be some conflict between Peter and Bruce themselves before everything is resolved?
Destin Daniel Cretton (director, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
Given that ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ changed things in a huge way for Peter Parker –– as you’ll likely recall, it ended with a spell that wiped everyone’s memory of him so as to protect the people he loves –– the storyline going forward is naturally something of a mystery.
We do at least know that Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who contributed to or wrote the previous three Spider-outings, are back on board for this one.
Who else will appear in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’?
Even with the spell affecting Peter, MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) are still likely to return.
Yet with ‘Stranger Things’Sadie Sink’s casting earlier this year, that throws an interesting wrinkle in –– what if the plan is for MJ and Ned to have smaller roles while a new supporting cast rises to importance in Peter’s life?
Sink’s role being kept under wraps, and the studios will look to have it that way as long as possible.
Elsewhere, ‘The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas has also scored a role in the movie, but her character is also a mystery for now.
And thanks to the Reporter’s story, we also know that Michael Mando, the ‘Better Call Saul’ actor who cropped up in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ as Mac Gargan, the civilian version of Spidey villain Scorpion, so he’ll also be causing problems.
Finally, we got our first proper look at Holland in his new Spidey suit –– obligatory joke here about it being an official studio video and not a leak from the actor himself…
When will ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ be in theaters?
With cameras now rolling. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ will swing into theaters on July 31st, 2026.
Thanks to some recent release date shuffles, the movie will be the next MCU entry, ahead of ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which is now scheduled for December 19th, 2026.
Tom Holland in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
Movies and TV Shows Featuring Spider-Man Characters:
(Left) Tom Holland in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’. Photo: Marvel Studios. (Right) Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher.’ Photo: Netflix.
Preview:
Jon Bernthal is boarding ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’.
Destin Daniel Cretton is directing.
Tom Holland is returning to star as the titular web-crawler.
This casting is a happy full circle moment for Holland and Bernthal; the duo were working on the 2017 movie Pilgrimage when preparing to audition for their Marvel roles, and helped each other with their audition tapes.
Destin Daniel Cretton (director, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’) at CinemaCon 2025 for Sony Pictures at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on March 31, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty Images.
Given that ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ changed things in a huge way for Peter Parker –– as you’ll likely recall, it ended with a spell that wiped everyone’s memory of him so as to protect the people he loves –– the storyline going forward is naturally something of a mystery.
Here’s what Holland said to The Hollywood Reporter about the movie:
“The first few meetings were about, ‘Why would we do this again?’ And I think we found the reason why.”
What is that reason? It’s only known to those involved with the movie right now and soon to anyone who talks to Tom Holland if his talent for divulging spoilers accidentally continues to hold.
We do at least know that Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who contributed to or wrote the previous three Spider-outings, are back on board for this one.
Who else will appear in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’?
Even with the spell affecting Peter, MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) are still likely to return.
Yet with ‘Stranger Things’Sadie Sink’s casting earlier this year, that throws an interesting wrinkle in –– what if the plan is for MJ and Ned to have smaller roles while a new supporting cast rises to importance in Peter’s life?
Sink’s role is a mystery, one that Marvel and Sony will look to keep that way as long as possible.
But speculation has already begun, with a few potentials floating out there.
Sink could be playing Jean Grey, the hugely powerful mutant character from the ‘X-Men’ comics who has enjoyed a variety of storylines in the pages and on screens, including the memorable “Dark Phoenix” arc.
The X-Men, are, of course, the next big group for Marvel to incorporate into the MCU and we’ve already seen examples of them in the dimension-spanning likes of ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,’‘The Marvels’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ though none have been pointed up as the official versions of the characters to make the leap to Earth-616.
Using the new ‘Spider-Man’ movie to introduce one or more characters could work, as the Marvel team has a history of seeding new recruits in other movies.
But if the focus is more on Peter’s story, there’s a chance that Sink might be Gwen Stacey, another famous love interest for our hero, who has appeared in other Spider-stories. Another option is Felicia Hardy, AKA Black Cat.
And, of course, Sink’s red hair could make her a natural fit for classic Peter partner Mary Jane Watson, but with Zendaya’s MJ (albeit not using the same name) filling that role, it seems unlikely.
Elsewhere, ‘The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas has also scored a role in the movie, but her character is a mystery for now.
Bernthal has been the small-screen version of Marvel’s Frank Castle –– AKA vigilante character The Punisher –– since he showed up on the Netflix version of ‘Daredevil’ back in 2016.
Since then, he’s appeared in his own eponymous spin-off show, which ran on the streaming service between 2017 and 2019, then came a break until he was brought back in to the fold for this year’s Disney+ continuation series ‘Daredevil: Born Again.’
The story is under wraps for now, here’s what Brad Winderbaum, head of Marvel Television, told EW about it:
“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. It’s so exciting.”
A bigger question for The Punisher in the world of Spider-Man is how his grittier, more violent tone will fit with the family friendlier feel of Spidey and co.
When will ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ be in theaters?
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ will swing into theaters on July 31st, 2026.
Thanks to some recent release date shuffles, the movie will be the next MCU entry to follow ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’, which lands on July 25th.
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher.’ Photo: Netflix.
Movies and TV Shows Featuring Spider-Man Characters:
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher.’ Photo: Netflix.
Preview:
Jon Bernthal will be back as Frank “The Punisher” Castle for a new Marvel special.
He’s also returning for ‘Daredevil: Born Again.’
Bernthal will co-write the special with ‘King Richard’ director Reinaldo Marcus Green.
Crime might not pay, but vengeance appears to be profitable for Disney going forward.
With Jon Bernthal’s tough nut vigilante Frank Castle –– also known as The Punisher –– back on our screens for next month’s ‘Daredevil: Born Again,’ which will find him once more interacting with Charlie Cox’s blind lawyer-turned-super-sensory-hero Matt Murdock, Entertainment Weekly brings word that we can expect more from Bernthal in 2026.
It’s a big vote of confidence in both the character and Bernthal’s portrayal and shows that Marvel is willing to further explore other avenues for its characters. And The Punisher is certainly a popular comic book creation.
‘Born Again,’ meanwhile, revisits the Daredevil character as portrayed in the Marvel/Netflix series that ran between 2015 and 2018. After its initial episodes were filmed, Marvel decided to overhaul it creatively and bringing it closer in story to the Netflix run.
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher.’
Exact details of the story have yet to be revealed, but unless it’s a complete stand-alone, chances are it ties into the ongoing Castle story explored in ‘Born Again,’ so it’s perhaps not surprising that Marvel doesn’t want to spill too much.
But here’s what Brad Winderbaum, head of Marvel Television, told EW:
“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. It’s so exciting.”
Castle will come back into Murdock’s life in ‘Born Again’ at the lawyer’s request because Matt needs help with something handled that he’s unwilling to do, and Frank naturally dives in all guns blazing.
The new story marks even more involvement for Bernthal than usual –– he co-wrote the new special’s script with filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green, and the latter will direct the one-off.
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher.’ Photo: Netflix.
The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru and made his first appearance in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man #129’ in 1974 originally depicted as an assassin and adversary of the web-slinger.
The character is traditionally depicted as an Italian-American vigilante who employs murder, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence, and torture in his campaign against crime.
On the big screen, he’s been portrayed by the likes of Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson, while Bernthal played him in the second season of the Netflix ‘Daredevil’ series and in his own aforementioned titular show.
Here’s what Winderbaum said of Bernthal’s work:
“Bernthal is a generational actor. 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.”
What of the other Marvel/Netflix characters?
(L to R) Krysten Ritter, Finn Jones, Charlie Cox and Mike Colter in ‘The Defenders’. Photo: Netflix.
While Matt Murdock and his associated characters are returning for ‘Born Again,’ there hasn’t been much movement on the rest of the ‘Defenders’ line-up from the Netflix days, including Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones, Mike Colter’s Luke Cage, and Finn Jones’ Danny Rand/Iron Fist.
But Winderbaum has said that they might get their turn:
“I can’t say much. But I’ll tell you that It’s so exciting to be able to play in that sandbox… I can just say that all those variables taken into account, it is certainly something that is creatively extremely exciting and that we are very much exploring.”
When will the ‘Punisher’ Marvel special be on screens?
The current plan for the new special is for it to hit screens next year, around the same time as the second season of ‘Daredevil: Born Again.’ Which means we can expect plenty of Punisher content in 2026…
And the first season of ‘Born Again,’ which as mentioned includes Bernthal, kicks off on March 4th on Disney+.
Marvel Studios’ ‘Daredevil: Born Again.’
Movies and TV Shows Featuring Characters in ‘Daredevil: Born Again:’
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Marvel’s ‘The Punisher.’
The last time Jon Bernthal was seen on screens as vigilante Frank Castle –– better known as The Punisher –– it was in 2019, on what would become the second and final season of his titular series.
Created by Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru, Frank Castle first debuted in the pages of Marvel Comics’ The Amazing Spider-Man #129 in 1974.
The character is traditionally depicted as an Italian-American vigilante who employs murder, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence, and torture in his campaign against criminals. Driven by the deaths of his wife and two children, who were killed by the mob for witnessing a killing in New York City’s Central Park, the Punisher wages a one-man war on crime.
What’s the history of Jon Bernthal as the Punisher?
Bernthal was originally cast as Castle for ‘Daredevil’s second season on Netflix in 2016 before spinning off to his own series in 2017, which ran for two seasons on the streaming service.
Since Marvel and Disney took back control of their TV characters, Netflix has cancelled its entire Defenders output.
In 2021, Bernthal had this to say about a potential return:
“I think if there’s any let up on that character, you do a disservice to the character, to every iteration of the character, to every comic book that’s come before, and to all of the unbelievable fans of the character,” said the actor. “This character means so much to people in the military. So like I said before, it’s not about whether you do the character; it’s about whether you can do it right, and I’m only interested in doing it right.”
Looks like he thinks they’re doing it right.
What is ‘Daredevil: Born Again’?
‘Daredevil: Born Again’ represents the next step forward for the character on the small screen after Charlie Cox returned as Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer who dons a costume and fights crime as Daredevil, for a cameo in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ and as a recurring guest star on Disney+ series ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’. Vincent D’Onofrio, who played Wilson Fisk AKA Kingpin, returned in ‘Hawkeye’ and will be the main antagonist in ‘Born Again’.
Overseen by Matt Corman and Chris Ord, the show will boast 18 episodes in its first season and starts shooting this month in New York.
Marvel and Disney have yet to confirm any official details, but the show should be on screens next year. We don’t know how many episodes will feature Bernthal, but at least we know he’ll back.
After the successful introduction of the character in season two of “Daredevil,” Netflix is once again expanding its Marvel offerings by ordering a spinoff series featuring The Punisher.
Marvel and Netflix made the announcement official on Friday morning, following a report from Entertainment Weekly revealing the news. The “Punisher” series will star Jon Bernthal, reprising his “Daredevil” role.
Rumors of a standalone “Punisher” series swirled earlier this year, though at the time, Marvel and Netflix declined comment on the issue. But it seems that fans really responded to the character, a military veteran out for vengeance.
“We want to thank the fans who are clamoring for more of Jon’s stunning and powerful performance as Frank Castle from ‘Marvel’s Daredevil,’” said Executive Producer/Head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb, in a statement. “Now combined with Showrunner Steve Lightfoot’s compelling writing, we’re thrilled to bring ‘Marvel’s The Punisher’ to Netflix.”
“The Punisher” will be the sixth Marvel series in the ongoing collaboration between the studio and Netflix, following “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” the upcoming “Luke Cage,” and the in-development “Iron Fist” and team-up series “The Defenders.” According to EW, it’s unknown at this point if The Punisher will also pop up in that latter show, but it’s a strong possibility.
Before Daredevil,” he had to take a little punishment of his own.
No stranger to high intensity Hollywood roles — including “The Walking Dead” — Bernthal’s also an accomplished boxer in his increasingly-scant spare time. And in order to get himself most fully into the headspace of Frank Castle, the iconic anti-hero whose high-caliber mission of vengeance often brings him into conflict with more moralistic crusaders like Matt Murdock, the actor’s willing to go as far as possible to bring his character to life.
Moviefone: One of the things that’s interesting about Frank Castle is that he seems to resonate deeply with comic book fans. Tell me how the passionate following for The Punisher has influenced your take?
Jon Bernthal: It’s enormously important to me. Look, you start with the comic book audience. The comic book audience is a group of people I’m very familiar with. They’re incredibly passionate, they’re incredibly intelligent, and they can be incredibly loyal. I think that when you read a comic book, you’re forced to infuse so much of your own imagination while you read. I think what happens — the result of that is people have a real sense of ownership of the character. So I get how much this character means to so many people.
On a different level, the fact that this character has resonated so much with the law enforcement and military community, that means everything to me. There have been guys that have gone into battle for this country with The Punisher logo on their body armor, on their equipment. There’s guys who have died for this country with that logo on their equipment. That means everything to me. What’s the most challenging or demanding part of the role for you?
You’ve seen [the first season]. They’re doing movie quality fighting on a TV schedule. So it’s an incredibly physically demanding job. The fights are intricate, the fights are physical, and we’re always racing the clock. Physically, each episode was difficult in its own way.
I think that this character requires diving in to a very, very deep — very, very dark — place, and living in it, something I did for a long time. I’ve said before, there’s no way I could tackle this role, or attempt to tackle this role, if I wasn’t a husband and a father. Until you know what it’s like to love something more than yourself, you can’t begin to understand — at least I couldn’t begin to understand what it would be like to lose that love, and to lose people that mean more to you than you do.
You said you’re a very physical guy, but what did you get really good at as a result of this role?
I’m a rehearsal whore, man! I’m just really, really into rehearsing and understanding, with fights especially. So for me, I really look at the way a man fights. It’s so revealing about character. It’s really important for your portrayal of the character to see how he fights, how he reacts in a fight, how he reacts to pain, how he reacts when the different sides are unmatched.
I think there’s no lying in fighting. It reveals everything about a man, and I know that from my own fighting experience from boxing. For me, I think what I got better at was trusting the process with Eric Linden, my unbelievably talented stunt double, and we really sort of figured out how to take a fight. A movie-quality fight, an unbelievably ambitious movie-level fight — and shoot it in one night, and learn how to say, “OK, this is what Eric does good, this is what Jon does good. This is how we all work together.”
Once you got the role, you had strapped on a pretty heavy backpack and did some walking around New York to get into the headspace of the character. How did that help?
That’s just weird actor crap, man. I don’t really have a rhyme or reason for what I do. It’s like, how are you going to spend your nights? In the beginning, when I was trying to find this character, I felt that loading up my backpack, putting a ton of weight in it, and just walking through Brooklyn and Manhattan would just be a good thing. Just to play with the character in your head.
It’s sort of a method that sounds goofy talking about it, taking the character out to dinner, going to dinner in character and doing a whole night in character, going into different places. I just don’t think that this is the kind of thing where you can be at the bars and the nightclubs, and be eating at nice restaurants, and then go step on set and be in that darkness.
He played a sinister character on “The Walking Dead,” and now, actor Marvel’s Daredevil.”
Marvel announced Tuesday that Bernthal was joining season two of the Netflix hit as Frank Castle — a.k.a. The Punisher. Per the release, The Punisher “is a vigilante who aims to clean up New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen by any means necessary, no matter how lethal the results.”
“Jon Bernthal brings an unmatched intensity to every role he takes on, with a potent blend of power, motivation and vulnerability that will connect with audiences,” said Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s Head of Television, in a press release. “Castle’s appearance will bring dramatic changes to the world of Matt Murdock and nothing will be the same.”
Bernthal took to Twitter to discuss his casting, writing on the social media site that he was “honored” by all the fan support. “Thanks for the love yall,” the excited actor tweeted. “Let’s get it.”