Marvel Studios has the perfect equivalent to Keanu Reeves' John Wick already appearing on Disney+ and ready to take the big screen by storm. Coming off John Wick: Chapter 4 and the Ballerina spin-off, Reeves' modern action icon is taking some time away from the spotlight. That said, The Matrix star is reuniting with director Chad Stahelski for John Wick 5 at Lionsgate, although no release date has been confirmed. In the meantime, the MCU already has its own John Wick-equivalent alive and well, even if he is being wasted on Disney+.
The MCU already has a clear answer to Keanu Reeves' John Wick in Jon Bernthal's Punisher, as the two action heroes are remarkably similar. Both a highly-skilled marksman and combatant who are fueled by grief to wage war on the criminal underworld, effectively serving as a brutal one-man army with no powers.
Marvel Studios is clearly eager to give Bernthal an expanded role across the street-level MCU, placing him across Daredevil: Born Again, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and a solo Disney+ Special Presentation across 2025 and 2026.
If Castle's one-hour "high-octane" special resonates with fans, the studio will be eager to continue his solo antics. One option may be a Born Again-esque revival of Netflix's The Punisher, but doing so may stretch the street-level MCU too thin on Disney+, especially with a Jessica Jones reboot also on the cards.
The Punisher's theatrical leap in Spider-Man 4 marks the first Netflix hero to do so in a major role after Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock cameo in No Way Home. If fans resonate well with Castle on the big screen and his Disney+ special, one has to wonder if an MCU Punisher solo movie could be in order.
Why It's Time for an MCU Punisher Movie
The character already has a storied theatrical lineage, including The Punisher (1989), The Punisher (2004), and Punisher: War Zone (2008). In each, Castle was played by a different actor: Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane, and Ray Stevenson.
Marvel Studios' potential Punisher flick would, of course, star Bernthal, and could be an R-rated, John Wick-esque, action blockbuster. After Deadpool & Wolverine brought in over $1 billion at the box office, the studio may be more willing to experiment with an R-rating, especially with Blade seemingly cancelled for now.
The criminal-killing machine could also be the perfect candidate for a lower-budget experiment, even under $50 million, akin to the first John Wick movie. For context, the typical MCU blockbuster costs between $150 and $250 million, but the potential simplicity of a street-level gang-related tale could drop costs far lower.
DC Studios is already experimenting with low-budget movies that can drive creativity further, with this year's DCU body-horror Clayface costing only $40 million. Keeping costs low leaves more room for profit, allowing characters with lower earnings potential to still drive significant profits.
The Punisher is a character with strong brand recognition, high interest that will only grow with his 2026 appearances, and the ability to appeal to a non-traditional superhero crowd, namely, fans of action flicks like John Wick.
Top Boy and King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green is helming the Disney+ special and could conceivably maintain those duties for the big screen. Or, the man behind John Wick, Chad Stahelski, has a history with Marvel Studios, having served as second-unit director on Captain America: Civil War, possibly opening the door for him to one day helm an MCU flick, such as The Punisher.
