The upcoming Punisher revival on Disney+ is set to bring Frank Castle back into the solo spotlight, with several other key characters confirmed for the project. Coming off his return in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, this will be the third MCU Special Presentation, bridging Frank's path to Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Despite general fan excitement, not a lot is actually known about this sidequest, but the cast is revealing more.
Jon Bernthal's Punisher will sit out Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, but fans likely shouldn't be too concerned, given his massive year ahead in the MCU. There's no official release date, but Bernthal indicated the special will likely debut around the same time as Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is likely to be sometime between June and late July.
In addition to the new Special Presentation, Frank is also expected to play a significant role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, marking the Punisher's first MCU movie appearance.
Information on the Special Presentation remains scarce, with Marvel Studios keeping most plot specifics tightly under wraps, but all signs point to a brutal, TV-MA return to form for Frank Castle. It's likely that details won't emerge until after Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 wraps, as the events of that series could directly shape the direction of Castle's standalone story when it premieres on March 24.
For now, fans know which familiar faces from Netflix's The Punisher are set to return, along with a few new characters joining Bernthal for the roughly one-hour special.
Confirmed Characters in Punisher Special
Frank Castle - Jon Bernthal
After debuting on Netflix's Daredevil in 2016 and headlining two seasons of The Punisher, Bernthal's Frank Castle is a key pillar of Marvel's street-level MCU, with Daredevil: Born Again setting the stage for his next chapter.
The last time audiences saw Castle, he was locked inside Wilson Fisk's (Vincent D'Onofrio) secret, dungeon-like detention facility at the end of Season 1. The Season 2 trailer confirms that this prison housing political enemies and masked vigilantes will remain a major location.
If Frank is still being held there when Season 2 unfolds, it creates a natural narrative bridge into the Punisher Special Presentation, which is set to release after the show.
More than likely, Born Again Season 2 will engineer some form of breakout or escape amid Matt Murdock's (Charlie Cox) escalating war with Fisk, allowing Castle to slip free and transition seamlessly into his solo story.
Curtis Hoyle - Jason R. Moore
Jason M. Moore's return as Curtis Hoyle is an example of keeping some of the narrative tissue from the Netflix past, not into the Disney+ future. As a former Navy Corpsman and close confidant to Castle, Hoyle traditionally serves as someone who understands Frank's trauma but challenges the extremes of his violence.
More importantly, Hoyle’s return suggests the story will lean heavily into themes of PTSD, survivor's guilt, and the human cost of Frank's war. Curtis isn't just a sidekick but the emotional lens through which Castle sees whether he's still seeking justice or has fully become the guns-blazing weapon he fears.
Dennis - Roe Rancell
Roe Rancell's Dennis is one of the biggest question marks in the Punisher Special Presentation, with Marvel Studios revealing nothing about the character so far.
Based on set photos, Dennis appears to be an ally to Frank Castle and a brand-new MCU character, marking Rancell's first appearance in the franchise.
Charli - Mila Jaymes
Mila Jaymes will play Charli, a young girl who may need Frank's protection or intervention in the special.
Her role could haunt Frank's tragic past, when his own daughter, Lisa, was killed alongside her mother and brother in a Central Park gangland shootout (from The Punisher).
Ma Gnucci
The reported villain for the Punisher special is Ma Gnucci, a notorious crime lord from Marvel Comics who has never appeared in live-action before.
Set photos suggest she will be portrayed by a woman in a wheelchair, though her casting has not been officially confirmed.
In the comics, Ma Gnucci has a deadly history with Frank Castle, surviving a gruesome polar bear attack at the Central Park Zoo. But the special appears to present her earlier in the story, with all limbs intact. It will be exciting to see Frank handle this situation and then move on to help (and possibly even fight) Spider-Man take on an array of villains in Brand New Day.
