Jon Bernthal to headline Punisher special for Disney+ and Marvel

By Dan Girolamo Published February 25, 2025

Jon Bernthal has some more stories to tell as the Punisher.

Per EW, Bernthal will reprise his role as Frank Castle, aka the Punisher, for a Marvel special on Disney+. Reinaldo Marcus Green will direct the special from a screenplay he’s cowriting with Bernthal.

“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,” Brad Winderbaum, the head of Marvel Television, said to EW. “It’s so exciting.”

Bernthal is set to reprise his role as the Punisher in Daredevil: Born Again season 1. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the plan is to release the Punisher special in 2026 alongside Daredevil: Born Again season 2.

The Punisher special will fall under the Marvel Studios Special Presentations banner. Marvel has released two specials on Disney+: Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

Bernthal first appeared as Frank Castle in the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil. Castle becomes the ruthless vigilante known as the Punisher after gang members gun down his family. Bernthal went on to headline The Punisher, which ran for two seasons on Netflix from 2017 to 2019.

Disney’s integration of Netflix’s Marvel characters into the MCU remains a priority for the studio. Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk/Kingpin are two main characters from Netflix’s Daredevil transitioning to Daredevil: Born Again, which premieres on March 4 on Disney+.

With Matt Murdock back in the MCU, it’s only a matter of time before Marvel considers adding more of Daredevil’s teammates from The Defenders, including Luke Cage (Mike Colter), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), and Danny Rand/Iron Fist (Finn Jones).