Marvel Television is bringing Jon Bernthal's Punisher back to the forefront with a new Disney+ Special Presentation, The Punisher: One Last Kill. Following Bernthal's return to the MCU in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, the character has a massive year ahead of him, courtesy of his Disney+ special and an appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The Punisher: One Last Kill will stream on Disney+ on Tuesday, May 12, one week after the end of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.

Marvel released the first trailer for the Disney+ Special Presentation titled The Punisher: One Last Kill, featuring Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle. While the trailer did not reveal much in terms of plot details, a synopsis teased Frank Castle being brought back into the fray due to "an unexpected force." The full trailer can be seen below:

The trailer kicks off with Frank shirtless and talking to Jason R. Moore's Curtis Hoyle, who returns to the MCU after his supporting role in both seasons of Netflix's The Punisher. 

Marvel Studios already confirmed 12 superheroes and villains who will star in Disney+'s VisionQuest, the studio's sequel series to its inaugural show, WandaVision. Following January's Wonder Man and March's Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Marvel Studios will deliver its third live-action Disney+ series of the year in the fall with VisionQuest ahead of December's Avengers: Doomsday.

Serving as the final chapter of the WandaVision trilogy (the second chapter of which was Agatha All Along), the series will star Paul Bettany's Vision and other artificial intelligences similarly connected to Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man.

VisionQuest's 12 Main Characters Ranked by Power Level (Worst to Best)

The fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) should keep an eye on their feeds on April 16, as a wave of news about Avengers: Doomsday and possibly Avengers: Secret Wars is expected throughout the day. Marvel Studios has a strong history of showcasing its content during CinemaCon, the annual trade show for theater owners and exhibitors. Marvel usually utilized the event to ramp up excitement for their projects and rebuild momentum for the MCU. 

Disney's CinemaCon presentation is scheduled for Thursday, April 16, and is expected to include exclusive new footage from Avengers: Doomsday, shown privately to exhibitors. Detailed descriptions of the footage are likely to be shared that same day publicly, making April 16 the next major date for MCU fans eager for fresh updates on the upcoming crossover event.

Disney's presentation is scheduled to run from 2:30 to 4:30 pm PT, and it will be held at the Dolby Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. 

With Nicolas Cage playing a new version of Spider-Man in the upcoming Spider-Noir series, the actor will break Tobey Maguire's record for playing the oldest live-action Spider-Man seen on screen. When Maguire appeared in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, he was 46 years old, and Cage will be 62 years old upon the release of Spider-Noir on Amazon Prime Video on May 25.

Via details shared by Marvel and co. via a feature from Esquire, Spider- Noir showrunner Oren Uziel explained that often, "Peter Parker feels very synonymous with a high school kid," and to tell the darker story they were going for, they needed an older, more pessimistic version of Spider-Man:

"Peter Parker feels very synonymous with a high school kid. Boyish. On his way up."

A villain long thought dead in the MCU's Netflix universe is making a shocking return to the screen. Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is already four episodes into its eight-episode run, and fans have enthusiastically embraced the new season. The biggest surprise, however, is still on the horizon, bringing the story back to its original roots.

The recently released Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 mid-season trailer wasted no time showing the return of a dead villain from Netflix's Daredevil, and this time, there was no squinting required. At the 0:53 mark, fans were treated to the first clear, full shot of Toby Leonard Moore back in the role of James Wesley, sitting in the back of a car next to his boss, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio). 

One setting in the MCU will help the franchise make history for its next movie and its preceding Phase 6 releases. While Phase 6 is the smallest in years (taking multiple delays into account), it continues to deliver new, exciting stories centered on franchise veterans and newcomers alike. 

Marvel Studios is in the midst of releasing Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, which will be followed by The Punisher: One Last Kill on Disney+ and its next movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, in theaters. This will mark the first time in MCU history that three consecutive live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe releases - specifically, a movie and its two preceding live-action installments of the MCU - have all taken place predominantly in the same main location (New York City).

Born Again is in the middle of its second season, showcasing street-level action across the greater New York City area. With Wilson Fisk in control as the city's mayor, Matt Murdock is preparing for an all-out war against him, hoping to take down his gun-running operation at the same time.

After successfully rebooting Spider-Man in the MCU, Marvel Studios will repeat part of that process for the upcoming X-Men movie. Once the Multiverse Saga comes to an end with Avengers: Secret Wars, the MCU will take its next big step by bringing Earth-616's versions of the mutants into the story. 

Jake Schreier, who will direct Marvel Studios' first X-Men movie, spoke about the strategy for developing the new MCU film. In an interview with Collider, Schreier discussed how the first take is to "make one great movie" while having a vision for the "different places this can go." Specifically, he talked about what "hasn't been explored as much" from Marvel Comics and "different avenues" the production team can go down in future movies:

"I think that, obviously, first things first: We have to make one great movie. But we always have an eye as we’re talking about it too. What are the different places this can go? What are the places that [have] been in the comics? What hasn’t been explored as much, and how can that be incorporated? And what are some of the different avenues that we could take that feel like the kind of less-trodden path that we could go down? But those ideas are always out there, as we have the discussions."

There is no MCU without Tony Stark, who headlined the franchise's very first movie back in 2008. However, Iron Man was never the heart of the MCU; that honor belonged to Steve Rogers, a man who embodied everything it meant to be a hero long before he ever put on a supersuit. Captain America became such an icon during his time running around with The Avengers that the powers that be at Marvel Studios decided his moniker couldn't leave with him.

A succession plan was put in place to ensure the MCU would still have a Captain America after Steve's retirement. Despite the shield being passed down, though, characters with connections to it in the source material have continued to pop up. In fact, Daredevil: Born Again, a show that seldom shows love to Earth's Mightiest Heroes, may have just teased another hero who will eventually throw their hat in the ring for the title: Jessica Jones' daughter.

The latest trailer for Born Again's sophomore outing revealed that a visit from the Anti-Vigilante Task Force is pushing Jones to get back in the field and bash heads because she's worried about her child's safety. 

Disney+'s X-Men '97 Season 2 is bringing back Wolverine with a game-changing twist that will make him more savage than ever. Last season closely-mirrored Marvel Comics' "Fatal Attractions" arc as Magneto tore the adamantium from Wolverine's skeleton. The animated Disney+ series may not be the last time Marvel Studios brings back Wolverine in 2026, as rumor has it that the savage mutant will also appear this December in Avengers: Doomsday.

Marvel Studios released the first official poster for X-Men '97 Season 2 that includes a glimpse at Wolverine, who looks to be ripped straight from an era of the comics when Logan became more savage and powerful than ever.

Avengers: Doomsday star Simu Liu appeared to tease the inclusion of Tom Holland's Spider-Man in a new image from social media. The mystery surrounding Spider-Man's role in Avengers: Doomsday continues to dominate MCU headlines, mainly because it is still unknown if Marvel's web-slinger will appear in the crossover at all. All signs, however, point to at least one version of Spider-Man appearing in the film, especially after Robert Downey Jr. posted an official Doctor Doom art featuring a Spider-Man Easter egg.

Fans have been meticulously dissecting this official Doctor Doom promotional art because they are drawn in by the clear nods to at least a dozen hero teams and major characters poised to confront Downey's Victor von Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. 

Shang-Chi star Simu Liu (who is already confirmed to appear in the MCU crossover) chimed in, posting his own analysis on his Instagram story on which heroes the Doctor Doom art is referring to. In the image, Liu matches the Spider-Man Easter Egg to Tom Holland's Spider-Man, seemingly spoiling the Marvel hero's appearance in Avengers: Doomsday. 

Avengers: Doomsday's first six Funko figures were confirmed. Every modern blockbuster comes with a wide range of merch, toys, and other collectibles, including the infamous Funko Pop! Vinyl bobbleheads. After Funko offers up its Spider-Man: Brand New Day range imminently, it will turn attention to Avengers: Doomsday ahead of its December 18 release.

Marvel Studios, via collectible retailer 1001 Hobbies, listed Avengers: Doomsday's first six Funko Pop! Vinyl figures for release in November, alongside a variety of other exciting mystery releases from the beloved toy manufacturer. 

Editor's Note: All included Funko images depict previous Pop! Vinyl releases, as Marvel Studios has thus far only unveiled the names of its first Avengers: Doomsday Funko figures, not images.

Marvel Studios took the necessary steps to fix Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 by incorporating changes that improved its second season. Disney+'s reimagined continuation of Netflix's Daredevil series had a rocky creative development, which began with the firing of its original showrunners, Matt Corman and Chris Ord, in September 2025. This led to a creative overhaul spearheaded by new showrunner Dario Scardapane and directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. 

The first version of Daredevil: Born Again was described as a semi-serious legal procedural, and the overhaul fixed that by aligning the show with the tone and continuity of the original Netflix Daredevil series. This included bringing back key characters like Foggy Nelson and Karen Page and incorporating major actors like Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Fisk.

Many viewers felt Season 1 had a somewhat "Frankensteined" quality, with the middle episodes feeling noticeably less cohesive because they largely retained the original vision from the first version. Meanwhile, the opening and closing episodes reflected the major creative overhaul. Season 2 fixed that by showcasing a single, cohesive vision at least for the first three episodes. 

Marvel Studios confirmed the imminent arrival of the MCU's Green Goblin (but there is one catch). Spider-Man: No Way Home surprised everyone when it brought back Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin from Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man movies to serve as one of the chief villains against the trio of Spider-Men featured in the MCU threequel. Following Green Goblin's return to his main timeline, Marvel Animation introduced another version of Norman Osborn in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 1 as a key mentor figure to Peter Parker in an alternate timeline. 

Season 1 of the hit Disney+ series chronicled how Norman became a pseudo-father figure to Peter, providing him with resources and upgrades to his Spider-Man suit. At the end of Season 1, Norman Osborn has yet to become the Green Goblin, but an eventual transformation could soon happen. 

Speaking as a guest on the new episode of The Escape Pod cast, Marvel Studios Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, confirmed that Norman Osborn from Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will "become Green Goblin at some point," noting, "you know it's coming, but you get to live with the characters first:"

Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange has one of the messiest roads to Avengers: Doomsday of any MCU hero. The Sorcerer Supreme was left off Marvel's March 2025 cast reveal entirely, a 27-name livestream that rolled out one director's chair after another, confirming everyone from Chris Hemsworth's Thor to the returning Fox-era X-Men. Strange's chair never appeared, to the dismay of fans. Cumberbatch then muddied the waters himself, telling Variety in January last year that the character simply wasn't "aligning with this part of the story" before walking that back later at Sundance, stating, "I got that wrong, I am in the next one."

The drama just got more interesting. A piece of Easter artwork posted by Robert Downey Jr. on his personal Instagram is adding more fuel to those Doctor Strange Doomsday rumors. The comic-style image shows Doctor Doom looming over a wicker basket filled with painted eggs, each carrying the logo of a different Marvel hero or team. Tucked toward the back of the basket, behind eggs representing confirmed Doomsday heroes, sits one marked with what looks like the circular window of Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. 

Marvel Television has a massive slate of projects set to be released after Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 ends. While the MCU's Phase 6 movie line-up is a little lighter than other Phases, the streaming side of the franchise is on a roll with new stories and characters.

Seven new seasons of MCU television are set to debut on Disney+ following the release of the last episode of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 on May 5, 2026. Matt Murdock's upcoming brawl with Wilson Fisk (the mayor of New York who has enacted martial law) will continue an exciting brand of storytelling in the MCU, with multiple new chapters over the next few months.

Every MCU Disney+ Project Coming Out After Daredevil: Born Again Season 2

The first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day delivered a mix of villains, fresh faces, and even a mysterious mutation affecting Peter Parker, but stopped short of revealing a straightforward plot. As is often the case with early Marvel Studios previews, the footage appears intentionally scrambled, making it difficult to place each moment within the film's suspected two-hour story. Still, by breaking down the trailer beat by beat, there's a chronological sequence that begins to take shape.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is clearly being positioned as a reset, a sentiment Tom Holland himself has echoed, describing the film as a "fresh start." That applies not just to this version of Peter Parker, but to the franchise as a whole, with Destin Daniel Cretton stepping in after Jon Watts passed the proverbial baton. 

Even with that reset in place, familiar faces are still part of the story. Zendaya's MJ and Jacob Batalon's Ned are both back, despite no longer remembering Peter. That lingering connection is especially notable given the story picks up four years after Spider-Man: No Way Home.

A Marvel movie that has gone through multiple delays and caused many fans to wonder if it would even be released will apparently be coming out in 2027. Thanks to the MCU, Marvel has become one of the most successful and recognizable brands in the world. Even projects that are under the Marvel banner but are not a part of Marvel Studios' interconnected universe already have a leg up on other projects simply because of the Marvel name. However, not all of them end up performing well, and some even get shelved for large periods of time or even cancelled.

According to writers and producers Chris Miller and Phil Lord, in an interview with Variety (shared via X) on the red carpet for their newest film, Project Hail Mary, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will finally be released in 2027 after going through multiple delays. Lord and Miller also revealed what fans can expect from the upcoming animated movie, which will close out the Spider-Verse trilogy that began with 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Specifically, the duo mentioned that Beyond the Spider-Verse is "on schedule," meaning that it will be released in 2027. 

A secret hero in Marvel Television's Daredevil: Born Again was finally revealed during Season 2's early episodes. While plenty of heroes are making a name for themselves in this show's second season (including some who have yet to show up on screen), one particular character had their major unmasking moment within the season's first few weeks on the air.

The first two episodes of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 featured multiple satirical videos featuring a previously undisclosed person dressed as New York City Mayor Wilson Fisk, complete with a farcical mask that vaguely resembled Fisk's face. This person is eventually revealed to be Genneya Walton's BB Urich.

April 2026 is an exciting month for MCU fans, ramping up the hype for several MCU projects, such as Daredevil: Born Again and Avengers: Doomsday. Daredevil: Born Again's Season 2 premiere on Disney+ on March 24 means a good chunk of its sophomore run will be released throughout April, leading to its hard-hitting finale in May. This is on top of the wave of news expected to arrive due to two major events in April, namely CinemaCon and Comic-Con Experience (CCXP) Mexico. 

Although April lacks a major Marvel Studios theatrical premiere, it serves as a reset period for the MCU, fueling anticipation for its heavy-hitters, including Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. 

Every Major Date In April 2026 MCU Fans Should Look Out For 

Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle has worn a few versions of the Punisher skull over the years. The Netflix run gave him a simple, tactical bulletproof vest, ammo belt, and waist holsters that fans came to know across two seasons of The Punisher and his original appearances in Netflix's Daredevil. When he returned for the MCU proper in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, the costume was close enough to the Netflix look to feel like a continuation. 

A new teaser for the ongoing Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 featured a new look at the character in his upcoming Disney+ special, and his appearance has changed. Marvel used the teaser to offer the first proper look at Frank Castle's design in The Punisher: One Last Kill, the Marvel Television Special Presentation arriving on Disney+ on May 12. The glimpse is brief, but it reveals a suit that's visibly distinct from both his Born Again Season 1 appearance and from what's been shown of his look in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day.