Untitled Punisher television special

Last updated

Untitled Punisher television special
Genre
Based on Marvel Comics
Teleplay by
Directed byReinaldo Marcus Green
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
Production location New York City
Cinematography Robert Elswit
Production company Marvel Studios
Original release
Network Disney+
Related
Marvel Studios Special Presentations

The untitled Punisher television special is an upcoming American television special directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and written by Green and Jon Bernthal for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Punisher. It is intended to be the third Marvel Studios Special Presentation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films and television series of the franchise. The special is produced by Marvel Studios and the second MCU project centered on the character following the television series The Punisher (2017–2019), which was produced by Marvel Television and originally released on Netflix.

Contents

Bernthal reprises his role as Frank Castle / Punisher from Marvel's Netflix television series and the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again (2025–present), with Jason R. Moore and Roe Rancell also starring. Following the cancellation of The Punisher in 2019, Bernthal was cast for Born Again in March 2023. A special featuring his character was conceived during filming of the first season of that series, with Bernthal and Green revealed to be working on the project with Marvel Studios in February 2025. Filming began in mid-July in New York City and concluded in early August.

The special is set to be released in 2026, as part of Phase Six of the MCU.

Cast

Additionally, Roe Rancell has been cast as Dennis. [3] [4] The character Ma Gnucci is expected to appear in the special. [5]

Production

Background

In June 2015, Jon Bernthal was cast as the Marvel Comics character Punisher for the second season of the Netflix series Daredevil (2015–2018), which was produced by Marvel Television. [6] In April 2016, Netflix ordered the spin-off series The Punisher (2017–2019), with Bernthal reprising his role as Frank Castle / Punisher. [7] Both series were canceled by the end of February 2019, [8] not long before Marvel Television was folded into Marvel Studios, the production company behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films. [9] [10] A Disney+ revival series titled Daredevil: Born Again (2025–present) was announced by Marvel Studios in July 2022. [11] Bernthal was set to reprise his role by March 2023, [12] [13] but soon left the series because he did not agree with the direction it was taking Castle. After Born Again underwent a creative overhaul and former The Punisher writer Dario Scardapane was hired to be its showrunner, Bernthal returned and had input on the character's portrayal. He felt the first season of Born Again "opened the door to getting closer to the Frank Castle that I really, really want to portray". [14]

Development

During filming for the first season of Born Again, Bernthal conceived a story for a television special focused on the Punisher. [1] [14] Marvel Studios looked at some of Bernthal's previous writing and then asked him to pitch the special to them before it moved forward. He said that he did not want them to "just hand it to me... they've held me accountable to every step along the way. I really want to earn this and I really want this to be good." [14] Brad Winderbaum, the head of streaming, television, and animation at Marvel Studios, revealed that the special was in development under the "Marvel Studios Special Presentation" banner in February 2025. [15] Reinaldo Marcus Green was set to direct the special and was writing the screenplay with Bernthal, after they worked together on the film King Richard (2021) and the miniseries We Own This City (2022). [1] [14] Winderbaum said the character was very important to Bernthal, who he felt had turned the Punisher into an "icon". [15] The special will be the first work produced based on Bernthal's writing. [14] It is intended to receive a TV-MA rating. [16]

Writing

Winderbaum said the Punisher was driven by pain, revenge, and justice, and felt the character was most interesting in stories that explored how his philosophy leads to specific ways of seeking justice. [15] He described the special as "a shotgun blast of a story, but [it] also has all the pathos and emotion that you want out of a Frank Castle story". [1] Bernthal said the special would be a "version that this character deserves" and not "Punisher-lite". [17] He added that the special would have "the visceral, psychologically complex, unforgiving, no-holds-barred version of Frank where he's going to turn his back to the audience. And nothing is easy and all violence has a cost, and we're going to see that cost. I'm grateful that they're letting me go to the places that I really want to go." Bernthal brought in former Marine Raider Nick Koumalatsos, who helped him train for Born Again, as a consultant on the special. [14]

Casting

Bernthal was set to reprise his role as Frank Castle / Punisher in the special when it was announced. [1] In July 2025, set photos revealed Roe Rancell in the supporting role of Dennis, [3] [4] as well as Jason R. Moore reprising his role as Curtis Hoyle from The Punisher. [2]

Design

Michael Shaw was the production designer for the special, after previously working on both seasons of Born Again. [18]

Filming

Principal photography began by July 17, 2025, in New York City, [3] [19] [16] under the working title Jolly Roger, with Robert Elswit set as cinematographer. [20] Filming took place in Queens on Jamaica Avenue, [3] as well as near Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. [19] A building exterior featured signs for Gnucci's Family Restaurant, believed to be a reference to Ma Gnucci and the Gnucci crime family. [21] [22] Filming occurred over 12 days and wrapped on August 4, 2025. [23]

Release

The special will be released on Disney+ in 2026 alongside the second season of Born Again, [24] as part of Phase Six of the MCU.[ citation needed ]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Romano, Nick (February 25, 2025). "Jon Bernthal's Punisher will headline Werewolf by Night-style Marvel special: 'Like a shotgun blast of a story' (exclusive)". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on February 25, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Chaudry, Anubhav (July 24, 2025). "The Punisher Set Photos Confirm Another Netflix Character From Marvel". Superhero Hype . Archived from the original on July 25, 2025. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Perez, Jose (July 17, 2025). "Jon Bernthal is seen filming "The Punisher" on Jamaica Avenue in Queens on July 17, 2025 in New York City". Getty Images. Archived from the original on July 19, 2025. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Roe Rancell Resume". TDH Talent Unlimited. Archived from the original on August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025– via Actors Access.
  5. ↑ Phillips, Tom (July 24, 2025). "Punisher Set Photos Seemingly Reveal Marvel Special Presentation's Villain". IGN . Archived from the original on July 24, 2025. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Jon Bernthal Cast as Frank Castle in the Netflix Original Series 'Marvel's Daredevil'". Marvel.com . June 9, 2015. Archived from the original on June 9, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  7. ↑ Hibberd, James (April 29, 2016). "Marvel's The Punisher spin-off ordered by Netflix". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  8. ↑ Patten, Dominic (February 18, 2019). "'The Punisher' & 'Jessica Jones' Canceled By Netflix; Latter's 3rd Season Still To Air". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  9. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (December 10, 2019). "Marvel TV Division Folded Into Studio Unit, Layoffs Expected". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  10. ↑ Patten, Dominic; Andreeva, Nellie (December 10, 2019). "Marvel TV To Shut Down, Current Series Folded Into Marvel Studios". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  11. ↑ Vary, Adam B. (July 23, 2022). "Marvel Studios' Phases 5 and 6: Everything We Learned at Comic-Con About the Multiverse Saga". Variety . Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  12. ↑ Kit, Borys; Couch, Aaron (March 7, 2023). "Jon Bernthal Returning as The Punisher for 'Daredevil: Born Again'". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  13. ↑ Moreau, Jordan (March 8, 2023). "Jon Bernthal Confirms Punisher Return in 'Daredevil: Born Again' at Disney+". Variety . Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Romano, Nick (March 18, 2025). "Jon Bernthal on 'Daredevil' return, 'no-holds-barred' Punisher TV special (exclusive)". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on March 19, 2025. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 Schreur, Brandon (February 24, 2025). "The Punisher: MCU's Jon Bernthal to Return in Marvel Special Presentation". SuperHeroHype . Archived from the original on February 24, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
  16. 1 2 Kit, Borys; McClintock, Pamela (July 20, 2025). "Marvel's Kevin Feige Talks Scaling Back, Losing Kang and His Texts to James Gunn After 'Superman'". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on July 20, 2025. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  17. ↑ Chuba, Kirsten (March 8, 2025). "Jon Bernthal on "Dark" Upcoming 'Punisher' Special: "It Will Not Be Punisher-Lite, I Promise You That"". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on March 9, 2025. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Alex Innocenti Resume". Alex Innocenti Illustration. Archived from the original on August 9, 2025. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  19. 1 2 Hayes, Jackson (July 16, 2025). "MCU Punisher Special Set Photos Confirm Connection to Another Defenders Show". ComicBook.com . Archived from the original on July 16, 2025. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  20. ↑ CinXperience [@CinXperience] (August 6, 2025). "@TheAcademy Award Winner Robert Elswit ('There Will Be Blood', 'MI: Rogue Nation') is the Cinematographer for 'The Punisher' special. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, also written by Reinaldo and Jon Bernthal. #ThePunisher wrapped today, hits Disney+ 2026!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025– via Twitter. – via Capra, Alison [@alisoncapra]; (August 8, 2025). "Photo Dump. Last Little Visit to NY. 🍎 What a special adventure. Watched Nick on set… Celebrated a very happy 5th birthday to Mr. Dimitri. Made new friends. Look out for a cameo appearance of our little ginger in the New Punisher Special Presentation". Archived from the original on August 8, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025– via Instagram.
  21. ↑ Hein, Michael (July 17, 2025). "MCU Punisher Set Photos Tease A New Villain (& Set Up One Of Frank's Most Brutal Kills)". ComicBook.com . Archived from the original on July 17, 2025. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  22. ↑ Dodge, John (July 17, 2025). "The Punisher Set Photos Drop Massive Hint for Frank Castle's Next Villain". Comic Book Resources . Archived from the original on July 17, 2025. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  23. ↑ Massoto, Erick (August 7, 2025). "Ahead of 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' Jon Bernthal Celebrates His Return as The Punisher in New Video". Collider . Archived from the original on August 8, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025. – via Sands, Steve [@stevesandsnyc]; (August 7, 2025). "8.4.25 Jon Bernthal in Punisher costume gives impassioned wrap speech to the crew on day 12 of filming his "Punisher" special to be released next year on Disney+. (C) Steve Sands / New York Newswire". Archived from the original on August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025– via Instagram.
  24. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (February 25, 2025). "Jon Bernthal to Return in 'Punisher' Special for Marvel and Disney+". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on February 25, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
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