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Subscribe from just £3 Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£9.99Subscribe now Best Netflix Movies Best movies on Disney Plus Movie Release Dates Best Netflix Shows Recommended reading Marvel TV Shows Jon Bernthal has switched up his Frank Castle look in behind the scenes snaps for Marvel’s upcoming Punisher short heading to Disney Plus Marvel TV Shows The Punisher’s full costume for upcoming special has been revealed, and fans are hoping that the characters in Spider-Man 4 will look just as comic book accurate Marvel TV Shows As shooting on the Punisher special wraps up, star Jon Bernthal gives a memorable speech: "The impossible really is possible, and this motherf***er was impossible" Marvel TV Shows Daredevil: Born Again season 2 release date speculation, cast, and everything else we know about the Marvel series Marvel Movies Spider-Man: Brand New Day adds The Punisher star Jon Bernthal to cast Marvel Movies New Spider-Man 4 set photos reveal the big-screen debut of the Punisher's iconic Battle Van Marvel Movies Spider-Man 4 release date, cast, leaks and theories, and everything else we know about the Marvel movie Entertainment Action Shows Marvel TV Shows The Punisher (TV show) The Punisher special release date, cast, plot, and everything else we know about the Marvel Studios Special Presentation Emily Garbutt 26 August 2025 Get the lowdown on the Punisher special ahead of Frank Castle's small-screen return When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Disney) Frank Castle is about to take center stage on the small screen again in The Punisher special. Jon Bernthal's vigilante returned to our TVs in Daredevil: Born Again for the first time since his Netflix show was cancelled back in 2019, but now he's branching out alone in an upcoming Disney Plus TV special. The project will be the third Marvel Studios Special Presentation after Werewolf By Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which were both released back in 2022 and are standalone episodes that are around an hour long. It looks like the Punisher will be joined by at least one familiar face for his special, and set photos also hint at the MCU debut of a Marvel villain from the comics. We still have a little while to wait before we're reunited with Frank Castle in Marvel Phase 6, but in the meantime, we've got everything you need to know about The Punisher special right here, from the release date window to a list of cast members and our best theories about the plot. You may like Jon Bernthal has switched up his Frank Castle look in behind the scenes snaps for Marvel’s upcoming Punisher short heading to Disney Plus The Punisher’s full costume for upcoming special has been revealed, and fans are hoping that the characters in Spider-Man 4 will look just as comic book accurate As shooting on the Punisher special wraps up, star Jon Bernthal gives a memorable speech: "The impossible really is possible, and this motherf***er was impossible" The Punisher special release date (Image credit: Netflix) The Punisher TV special is set to be released in 2026, but we don't have a specific release date just yet. It was previously reported that the special would release "alongside" Daredevil: Born Again season 2, which hits Disney Plus in March, so we may be able to expect Punisher's standalone project to also drop next spring. The Punisher special trailer (Image credit: Marvel Studios) No, there isn't a trailer for The Punisher special just yet. Filming has now wrapped on the project, so we can expect a trailer to drop a couple of months before release – whenever that might be. If it follows Daredevil: Born Again season 2 in March 2026, we can probably expect a teaser this winter. The Punisher special cast (Image credit: Disney/Marvel Studios) Jon Bernthal is the only confirmed cast member for The Punisher special just yet, but other actors (namely Jason R. Moore returning as Frank's trusted friend Curtis Hoyle) have been spotted on set. Other set photos have also suggested that crime boss Ma Gnucci could be going up against the Punisher, but we don't know who'll be playing her yet. You can see the full list of confirmed cast members below, which we'll add to as it grows. Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher Jason R. Moore as Curtis Hoyle The Punisher special plot (Image credit: Marvel Studios) Marvel hasn't released any official plot details about The Punisher special just yet, but we can start to paint a picture thanks to set photos from filming in New York City in summer 2025. The main clue comes from an establishment that could be Gnucci's Restaurant from the comics, which is owned by the Gnucci crime family. In Marvel Comics, Ma Gnucci, the family matriarch, is out for revenge against the Punisher after he kills her two sons. We last saw Frank Castle in Daredevil: Born Again episode 4, when Matt Murdock confronted him for not doing anything about the people misusing his symbol (in the previous episode, White Tiger is murdered by a man sporting the Punisher's distinctive white skull). So, as well as taking on New York's criminals, he may be going up against his own appropriative copycats, too. Plus, we know that we'll see Frank again in Spider-Man 4, officially titled Spider-Man: Brand New Day, so it's likely that the special will set up Peter Parker's next big-screen outing, too. At any rate, we can definitely expect something dark and gritty. "I care very deeply about Frank, I’m really grateful that I’m getting the opportunity to tell the story that I think the fans deserve," Bernthal said when the TV special was first announced. We're giving it our all and we're trying to tell a Frank Castle story that we're going to turn our back on the audience – it's not going to be easy, it's not going to be light, and I think it's the version that this character deserves and I'm just beyond honored and grateful that we get the opportunity… It will not be Punisher-lite, I promise you that." For more from the MCU, check out our guide to all the other upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way in 2025 and beyond. See more TV Shows Features Disney Plus Streaming Services Emily Garbutt Social Links Navigation Entertainment Writer I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Jon Bernthal has switched up his Frank Castle look in behind the scenes snaps for Marvel’s upcoming Punisher short heading to Disney Plus The Punisher’s full costume for upcoming special has been revealed, and fans are hoping that the characters in Spider-Man 4 will look just as comic book accurate As shooting on the Punisher special wraps up, star Jon Bernthal gives a memorable speech: "The impossible really is possible, and this motherf***er was impossible" Daredevil: Born Again season 2 release date speculation, cast, and everything else we know about the Marvel series Spider-Man: Brand New Day adds The Punisher star Jon Bernthal to cast New Spider-Man 4 set photos reveal the big-screen debut of the Punisher's iconic Battle Van Latest in Marvel TV Shows Blade is finally making his MCU debut in Marvel Zombies, but the character won't be voiced by Mahershala Ali Marvel fans are discussing an overlooked MCU show that's coming soon, and it just highlights the bloat: "Lol I keep forgetting about it" After Vincent D'Onofrio debunked the rumor, Charlie Cox himself says that he "does not believe" that Daredevil: Born Again season 2 will be the show's last One of Marvel's most anticipated new shows gets an earlier release date as Marvel Zombies will gnaw its way onto Disney Plus sooner than expected Kingpin actor Vincent D'Onofrio has already debunked Charlie Cox's claim that Daredevil: Born Again season 2 is the end: "Good chance there will be a third" Daredevil star Charlie Cox calls Born Again season 2 the "final season" while teasing that his "favorite" suit is still to come in the Marvel series Latest in Features If playing Gears of War while feeling the thrum of the PS5's DualSense is wrong, I don't want to be right – this is still a genre masterpiece 19 years on Supermassive Games' new sci-fi horror game Directive 8020 doesn't just let you redo your worst mistakes, it also speaks to my completionist heart I was already nervous about playing gory survival horror Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival, and then I saw the stack of vomit bags provided by the devs Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is filling the Mario Kart-shaped hole in my life that World isn't, and I'm as shocked by that as anyone Keeper is quintessential Double Fine, a strange creative concept with a truly wondrous execution: "We wanted to make something that we could probably never have gotten signed and published" Left 4 Dead has held the horde shooter crown for 17 years, but John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is the best challenger yet GAME REVIEWS MOVIE REVIEWS The Rogue Prince of Persia review: "I roguelike but don't roguelove this freerunner – there's just not enough to stand out" Shinobi: Art of Vengeance review: "So close to being to a pitch-perfect revival of a classic series, but just can't quite line up the killing blow" Fate of the Fellowship is the most anticipated board game of the year, and it's a thing of absolute genius This is the perfect cozy board game for Fall with its compelling mix of Redwall and city-building Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater review: "Little surprised me in this rigid remake, but it's still one of my favorite games of all time" Weapons review: "A twisted fairytale that bests Barbarian" The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: "An occasionally thrilling heroic adventure that sits safely within a B-tier MCU range" Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU" Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber" M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion" Peacemaker season 2 review: "Darker and sadder than the first year, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with the 11th Street Kids." 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