Jon Bernthal's Punisher returns as TV special 'One Last Kill' gets a major release update
Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle has more of his story to be told. After returning in 'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 1 and a cameo in 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' the character returns for his Marvel special presentation, 'Punisher: One Last Kill.' The show is slated to release on May 12, one week after the much-awaited finale of 'Daredevil: Born Again' Season 2. Bernthal originally starred as Castle in Season 2 of Netflix's 'Daredevil' in 2016. He faced off against Matt Murdock's character (played by Charlie Cox) before they teamed up. Castle has been one of the most anti-heroes in the comics as he takes violent steps to avenge the death of his family.
The tragic storyline, coupled with his military veteran background, led the streamer to give Bernthal his own spinoff, which ran for two seasons from 2017 to 2019. 'Punisher' was part of Netflix's 'The Defenders' group, also featuring Cox’s Daredevil and Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones. Earlier, Daredevil made his way to the MCU with cameos in 'Spider-Man: No Way Home,' 'She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,' and 'Echo.' He later starred in Disney+'s revival series, 'Daredevil: Born Again,' as he and Castle reunited to take on corrupt New York City mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), aka the Kingpin. Season 3 renewal news also includes the update that Bernthal will start in his own special.
Previous reports showed that leaked images of the special would likely depict comic book antagonist Isabella Carmela Magdalena 'Ma' Gnucci taking on Castle. The storyline is likely to see her gun for revenge after her sons were murdered by the Punisher. Like Castle, her backstory is on a par with tragedy, making her a worthy adversary in the series. It is also possible that this will most likely not be Castle's last kill, considering she is on an objective of his own in 'Brand New Day.'
The recently released trailer sees a rather friendly face-off between Castle and Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) in the streets of New York. Blunt as his approach is, Castle runs over Parker with a truck, and later fires at him without a second thought. The comeback from the web-slinger is just as swift as he pulls Castle out of the truck, and later hits him in the mouth with his web to shut him off from mouthing an expletive. At the time of writing, there is no clear idea of what his character's role is in the film, but with his brief appearances and a very special role, it is sure to please Bernthal's fans. Before suiting up as Castle, the actor was last seen in Netflix's crime drama, 'His and Hers', alongside MCU alum Tessa Thompson.
