Summary
- Jon Bernthal’s return as The Punisher in Daredevil: Born Again episode excites fans.
- Marvel Studios plans a Special Presentation starring Frank Castle in 2026.
- Frank Castle is most effective in shorter narratives or as a supporting character.
Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle—aka The Punisher—caused a stir this past week when he reappeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe courtesy of Daredevil: Born Again‘s fourth episode, “Sic Semper Systema.” Bernthal hadn’t been seen in the role since the last season of The Punisher aired on Netflix back in 2019, so fans were pretty excited to see him return.
Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock has always paired well onscreen with Bernthal’s Castle, so the sight of them reunited was a joyous moment for Marvel devotees. Based on promotional materials and behind-the-scene footage, we know Bernthal isn’t done with the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen just yet, so fans have plenty to look forward to as well. That being said, a vocal subset of fans online have been haranguing Marvel Studios about rebooting the Punisher series in full. Unfortunately for them, the House of Ideas has come up with a different, better alternative for the MCU future of Frank Castle.
Related
A fan-favorite Marvel Hero from the Netflix shows will finally get the MCU solo project fans have waited for, but it won’t be a TV series or film.
At the end of February, it came to light that Marvel Studios was going ahead with another Special Presentation, this time featuring storied anti-hero Frank Castle as the star. For those who are unaware, Marvel has released a grand total of two Special Presentations for the Disney+ streaming service (Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special), and both of these were released way back in 2022. When the idea of Special Presentations was first floated, fans speculated about getting multiple smaller projects about niche characters each and every year. Alas, with dwindling popularity and tightening budgets, Marvel Studios has kind of let the idea fall by the wayside… until now. Set to release sometime in 2026, the Punisher is going to be the star of his own Special Presentation.
The Punisher Isn’t Exactly The Easiest Marvel Character To Write For
Fans of The Punisher television series won’t like to hear this, but Frank Castle works better either with shorter narratives or as a supporting character. Take his comic book series, for example. A ton of the most beloved Punisher stories ever told in Marvel Comics are limited series or one-shots. Classics like Punisher: The Cell, Punisher: Barracuda, Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe, Punisher: Born, and even the more recent Punisher: Kill Krew are all shorter stories involving Marvel’s uber-violent anti-hero. It’s not that Frank Castle can’t work in long-form stories—Garth Ennis proved that multiple times over—it’s that it is easier to tell concise stories with the Punisher without them getting stale.
Look, Frank Castle isn’t the most complicated character out there. His family is dead, he’s very mad about it, and he’s going to do whatever he feels is necessary to stop other people from losing their families. Unless, you know, one of his many, many victims is a mother or father… then he is going to certainly rip that family apart. All in all, the Punisher works especially well in three different scenarios: headlining violent comics not meant for younger readers, being used in a comedic fashion that lampoons the very idea of the Punisher in some way (a la Kill Krew), or as a supporting character in someone else’s comic. The man got his start in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man and had a very memorable cameo in the mid-’00s Civil War crossover. But telling a riveting, coherent narrative that takes place over numerous installments? That isn’t the easiest thing to do with Frank.
The Special Presentation Format Is Perfect For The Punisher
If Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special proved anything, it’s that the Special Presentation format is arguably more interesting than the traditional limited series format for Marvel projects. Neither project overstayed its welcome, they were both thematically interesting, and fans weren’t forced to wait for creatives to tie up dangling plot threads. Everyone got in and out… no muss, no fuss. You know who else likes to get in and out quickly? That’s right! The Punisher!
Werewolf by Night has a runtime of 53 minutes and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special only runs for a total of 42 minutes. Can’t you just imagine a Punisher special that lasts around 45 minutes and is nothing but one long, deliciously gory action sequence? After all, how many times can people sit through another scene of Bernthal’s Castle ruminating about the tragic death of his family. Yes, it was very, very tragic. But everyone already knows this. It’s not like a third season of The Punisher series would bring back Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Micro. He’s a bit busy at the moment. And the show didn’t exactly give Ben Barnes all that much to do as Jigsaw, either.
The Special Presentation format can unleash the Punisher and let him do what he does best: kill a whole mess of bad guys. Forget everything that came before. This is a whole new ballgame where Frank Castle can unleash a heaping helping of violence onscreen. It’s a match made in Heaven… or is it Hell?