Posted in: Disney+, Movies, TV | Tagged: punisher

Punisher: Jon Bernthal on Punisher Special, "Brand New Day" Connection

Jon Bernthal offered a sense of when to expect Disney+'s Punisher "Special Presentation" and its connection with Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The bad news? Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle, aka Punisher, won't be appearing in Showrunner Dario Scardapane and Marvel Television's Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil) and Vincent D'Onofrio (Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin)-starring Daredevil: Born Again. The good news? Bernthal's Punisher will be appearing in Marvel Studios' Tom Holland-starring Spider-Man: Brand New Day and a Bernthal and director Reinaldo Marcus Green (We Own This City)-penned Punisher "Special Presentation" for Disney+. Now, Bernthal is offering some new insights into how closely the film and special are connected and when fans can expect the special.

"Around that same time, there will also be this Punisher special that's coming out, that I think will be as high-octane Punisher as you've ever seen," Bernthal shared with Screen Rant during an interview supporting his Netflix series, His & Hers. "I think what was really important to me and to Destin ["Brand New Day" director Destin Daniel Cretton] and to Tom [Holland] is that we believed that The Punisher could walk off of the Spider-Man set and could walk onto the special set, and I do believe that we achieved that." If the calendar stays where it's at, we should be looking at a Summer 2026 release (possibly Early Fall 2026?).

Along with hosting a panel showcasing what's on the horizon with Marvel Television and Marvel Animation during New York Comic Con 2025 back in October, Marvel Studios' Brad Winderbaum took some time to speak with Phase Hero LIVE's Brandon Davis about a number of projects in various stages of development that weren't previously highlighted, including an update on how things were looking with the "Special Presentation." Winderbaum noted that it had "wrapped up" filming-wise and was "in editorial now." In addition, he shared that Academy Award-winning DP Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood, Ripley) filmed the special. "Beautiful piece and incredibly acted by John [Bernthal]. I mean, really emotional and wild," Winderbaum added.

"I've said it a million times: Frank is in my bones, is in my heart. I care about him," Bernthal shared with Collider during an interview at April's CinemaCon 2025 (where he was supporting his and Ben Affleck's film, The Accountant 2) when asked how his co-writing the special came about. "In discussing what this thing could be and this sort of version of Frank that I really felt that the audience was hungry for, that the military community was hungry for it, the first responder community, the comic book fans, they were really hungry for it. I presented that version to them, and they encouraged me. They encouraged me to keep coming to the table," Bernthal added.

He continued, "As we were talking with different writers, the ideas that we were coming up with started to resonate, and I think they saw how much they resonated with me. I got a great group of vets that I work with. One in particular, my friend Nick, he's just been incredible. I hope that it goes alright. I don't like talking about these things because it's a little bit of bark before there's a bite, you know? I'm honored, and I'm grateful. It's an incredible group of people that we're assembling."

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