According to one Marvel Studios executive, two of the MCU's biggest 2026 projects will take place simultaneously on the timeline. Keeping track of where and when each Marvel project takes place in the MCU has become something of a passion project for some fans. However, things will get complicated (or even more complicated) in 2026, with the release of two particular titles.
Head of Marvel Television Brad Winderbaum recently revealed that the Punisher Special Presentation will seemingly happen at the same point on the MCU timeline as Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.
In talking about the pair of R-rated streaming projects to Entertainment Weekly, Winderbaum remarked that Punisher will "connect into the time and place that Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 takes place:"
"The less I say the better. The 'Punisher' TV special really does connect into the time and place that 'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 2 takes place."
To this point, it had been unclear how these two inherently connected projects would intertwine. It had previously been reported that Jon Bernthal's Punisher character will factor into Born Again Season 2 in some way, but this update appears to suggest that his role may not be too expansive.
The last fans saw of Bernthal's 'anything for justice' anti-hero, the character had been captured and imprisoned by the villainous Kingpin (played by Vincent D'Onofrio). If the character is going to star in his own solo adventure, one would assume he would have to escape from his iron confines.
It would seem that, according to Winderbaum, if both projects take place at the same time, then Punisher would likely break out from Kingpin's vigilante prison in Born Again, leading right into the Punisher Special Presentation.
The Punisher special and Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 are just two of Marvel's upcoming 2026 slate, which also includes a new Avengers movie and the long-awaited return of Paul Bettany's Vision character. Born Again's second batch of episodes will see Charlie Cox's Man Without Fear preparing for war, as D'Onofrio's now-Mayor Wilson Fisk outlaws vigilantes from operating in New York City.
What Punisher's Timeline Placement Tells Us About the Series?
Knowing that the Punisher Special Presentation is set to unfold simultaneously with Daredevil: Born Again reveals some key information about both projects.
We know that Born Again's second season will be set in a New York City at war with itself. With martial law having now been declared and Mayor Kingpin ruling over the city with an iron fist, this is not the same version of the Big Apple that fans were introduced to at the beginning of Born Again Season 1.
This likely means that Punisher, after he escapes from Fisk's custody, will not only be on the run in the usual way that he is, dodging the law as he enacts his own brand of skull-cracking justice, but also every Fisk sympathizer (of which there are now many).
Heading into Daredevil's second season on Disney+, fans have been eager to see how Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock will deal with Kingpin declaring war on New York's heroes, but knowing that Punisher will be playing at around the same time means that audiences will also be treated to how Jon Bernthal's comic character will react to everything as well.
And with rumors that the Punisher Special Presentation will lead directly into the character's appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Marvel Studios is setting up an exciting chronology for its 2026 superhero story.
