Jon Bernthal to Return in ‘Punisher’ Special for Marvel and Disney+
Jon Bernthal is returning for more punishment.
The actor will reprise Frank Castle, aka antihero the Punisher, in a special for Marvel Television, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
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Bernthal is cowriting the standalone special now in the works alongside Reinaldo Marcus Green, who will also direct. The Disney+ show will air in 2026 alongside the second season for Daredevil. Daredevil: Born Again season one, which will see Bernthal appearing as Punisher, releases on Disney+ March 4.
Bernthal first played the grieving father-turned-vigilante on Netflix’s version of Daredevil, debuting the character during 2016’s second season. He went on to headline his own series for Netflix, playing the titular character for two seasons of The Punisher, which spanned 2017 to 2019.
News of the Punisher special marks Bernthal, The Walking Dead alum, continuing to collaborate with Marvel.
In September 2023, Daredevil: Born Again hit the reset button and overhauled its planned 18-episode series after early footage failed to meet Marvel Studios’ expectations. When speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the Daredevil: Born Again premiere on Monday night, star Charlie Cox praised the work that was done: “One of the most amazing things about working for this company was their ability to look at what we were making, listen to the things Vince [D’Onofrio] and I had to say about it and pivot; decide you know what, this isn’t quite the right direction and we know how we can change it and make it better.”
In a 2016 interview with THR, Bernthal spoke about debuting the character and what it meant to Marvel Comics fans. He introduced the iconic comic character in the season-two premiere of Netflix’s Daredevil. When Hell’s Kitchen becomes ground zero for what seems like an army waging a war on gangs using military-grade firepower, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) soon finds out that it’s actually only one man seeking out a personal vendetta. In the opener, Matt suits up as Daredevil to find and take down the man the city has nicknamed the Punisher — but he quickly learns that he may have met his match.
“The Punisher means so much to so many people, and it lives in so many different people’s heads, so they care about it so much,” he said. “That’s huge to me, and I understand it. I’m familiar with the comic book audience from my time on The Walking Dead: They’re very intelligent, loyal and passionate. This character also resonates deeply with law enforcement and military. People go into battle for our country with the Punisher logo on their equipment, their body armor, their vehicles, and they die for their country with that logo on them.”
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