The Punisher is eyeing up a big screen project after his Disney+ Special Presentation, at least if star Jon Bernthal and director Reinaldo Marcus Green have anything to say about it. The Punisher: One Last Kill is the next major MCU release, following Bernthal's Frank Castle after the events of his Netflix show and alongside Daredevil: Born Again. The Punisher: One Last Kill is Bernthal's first time leading a Marvel project since the Netflix series was canceled in 2019, and he's already lined up for a role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day this summer.
With The Punisher back in such a big way in the MCU right now, the question remains where Frank Castle is headed next, which Green, the director and co-writer of The Punisher: One Last Kill, addressed in an interview with The Direct. While Green noted that the Punisher's future is up to Marvel Studios to decide, the director shared that he and Bernthal (who co-wrote One Last Kill together) are very hopeful for "a movie," which would "go worldwide and be on screens everywhere:"
"To be honest, I can't speak to that. I don't know what the plans are for the future of the Punisher. The only thing that we hope that we were able to accomplish is the demand for more if we were able to accomplish that. Hopefully Jon [Bernthal] and Marvel will come together to make something worthy of what the audience would want to see out of that character.
Moving forward. I think, speaking for myself, I know Jon, and I would love to make a movie, something that could go worldwide and be on screens everywhere. But obviously, that’ll be Marvel’s decision."
The Punisher is one of Marvel's darkest antiheroes, and the news of a new mature-rated Special Presentation following the character is poised to change Disney+'s family-friendly landscape forever. But this darker and more violent side of superhero fare is something Marvel Studios seems to want.
Green confirmed that Bernthal didn't want to do a Disney+ special that would make the Punisher "hold punches," and that they went in with the mentality of "go hard or go home." This didn't seem to be a concern for the House of Mouse, despite The Punisher: One Last Kill being a Disney+ release, as the idea was "loosely pre-approved" when Green was attached:
"I think Jon [Bernthal] wasn't going to have it any other way. I think he spoke about it publicly, that it was go hard or go home, so to speak. And you know, he wasn't going to do a special that was going to kind of hold punches. And so when he approached me, there was already a lot of that darkness in the character, in the journey of the character. He had already been thinking about this draft and the structure of the early drafts. So, it came to me, and it was already kind of loosely pre-approved in that sense."
The director added that he felt it was "really cool" that One Last Kill will stream on Disney+ because it's "not what you expect to see on that platform:"
"And so, I knew that at least as far as I was concerned, Disney was on board, which I thought was bold, and daring, and fun. And I think that's what makes it really cool, that it is a Disney+ special, because it's not what you expect to see on that platform, and to see Frank Castle kind of come back in this way I think was exciting, because it's a whole new audience for us."
While Green and Bernthal are still waiting to see whether their Punisher movie plans pan out, Bernthal does already have his next MCU appearance confirmed to be alongside Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Green confirmed that The Punisher: One Last Kill will "set [Frank] up" for his role in the new Spider-Man film, and give the audience a sense of his "psychological state." The director added that he hoped they "can get some new audience members" who will watch The Punisher: One Last Kill as preparation for Spider-Man: Brand New Day:
"I feel like we're coming in the right time. Just as a fan of The Punisher and a fan of Jon [Bernthal], I want to see him more on screen. That trailer looks amazing. Destin Cretton’s an incredible filmmaker. So, just to know that I got Frank first, which is cool to get there before everybody else did, which, selfishly, is really great [to be able to] set him up, like you said, and we know his psychological state before he goes into into Spider-Man… I couldn't have asked for better timing for us.
So, I think it's a lot of fun. I think people that are fans and people that are non-fans can still appreciate the special. Someone like my mother has never seen 'The Punisher'. I think she can appreciate where Frank is in his headspace, and then maybe she'll become a fan and then go watch Spider-Man. So, I'm hoping that we can get some new audience members.”
The Punisher: One Last Kill streams on Disney+ on May 12. Along with Bernthal as Frank Castle, the Special Presentation stars Jason R. Moore, Judith Light, Roe Rancell, Mila Jaymes, Nick Koumalatsos, and Colton Hill.
Will The Punisher Get an MCU Movie?
The Punisher has previously appeared in three headlining theatrical films–The Punisher (1989), The Punisher (2004), and Punisher: War Zone (2008). But Jon Bernthal's version of the character has been kept on the small screen, first appearing via Netflix's Daredevil, before spinning off into his own show, The Punisher, then reappearing in Daredevil: Born Again, and now gaining his own offshoot once again with One Last Kill.
It's been proven twice now that there is an appetite for The Punisher, particularly Bernthal's portrayal of him, with the character earning his own solo projects twice before. Adding to that is the popularity and exposure the Punisher is about to gain as part of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Following this, it seems like the time could be right for Frank Castle to jump to a big-screen movie of his own. Marvel Studios has leaned into more mature, R-rated content in recent years with the likes of Deadpool & Wolverine and Marvel Zombies, but a Punisher film could break new territory for the studio, serving as a more violent, gritty antihero tale compared to its typical superhero blockbusters.
Frank Castle is proving himself an integral part of the MCU, serving as one of the few Marvel Netflix heroes to bridge the divide between MCU TV shows and movies. If Marvel Studios really wants to connect its street-level movies and shows, using the Punisher as a headliner has very strong potential.
