This year is shaping up to be a big year for The Walking Dead Universe. The legendary franchise's two ongoing spinoffs, Daryl Dixon and Dead City, are set to return with new seasons, and there are plenty of exciting TV projects in the works starring some of our favorite faces from the saga itself. And, as longtime fans know, the TWD fans but the "family" in TWD Family.
They will always show up for their favorite stars from the franchise, and that is especially true for one of the biggest fan-favorites of the early seasons of The Walking Dead. He not only made a name for himself in the series but he successfully transitioned into the larger-than-life field of movies and streaming TV when he left it. Now, he's back in his most iconic role outside of the TWD Universe and we can't wait to see him in action.
Jon Bernthal finally returns as Frank Castle in The Punisher: One Last Kill this month
Frank Castle is back and he's angrier than ever. That's right; it's finally time for Jon Bernthal to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the hard-hitting vigilante known as The Punisher. The Walking Dead alum is set to take center stage this month as The Punisher: One Last Kill arrives on the Disney Plus streaming service on May 12, continuing the character's long-running arc throughout the MCU in violent, mature fashion.
The one-hour adventure is the third Disney Plus Special Presentation centred on a Marvel character. What that means is that it is essentially a TV movie, spotlighting The Punisher as he goes off on a solo mission that - judging by the title - could very well lead to him putting an end to his own violent method of crime-fighting. At 60 minutes long, it is set to be the longest outing that the format has seen thus far, surpassing the 40-minute runtimes of both 2022 installments Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. It's also set to make history as the first TV-MA Marvel special.
Although the title does suggest that it could mark the end of an era for Frank, that doesn't mean his days of vigilantism are behind him. No, One Last Kill isn't the only time we will see The Punisher this year, as Bernthal is set to reprise his role in the upcoming Sony and Marvel Studios theatrical release Spider-Man: Brand New Day. That film will obviously have a much-more family-friendly tone to the Special Presentation, as Frank and Spider-Man will seemingly collaborate in their crime-fighting missions, so it's possible that The Punisher has given up his more brutal methods at this point in time. The film's first trailer gives us an idea of the chaotic dynamic that the pair will have throughout the film.
Although Bernthal's anti-hero is a relatively recent addition to the MCU's canon, becoming "official" in the first season of Daredevil: Born Again in 2025, he has been playing that character for a lot longer than that. He first portrayed Frank Castle in the second season of the original Daredevil series for Netflix back in 2016. He was acclaimed for his performance as the gritty, violent, and revenge-driven Punisher, with fans particularly praising his chemistry with Daredevil himself, Charlie Cox, and Deborah Ann Woll's Karen Page.
Bernthal was then given the spotlight as Netflix commissioned spinoff series The Punisher, which allowed the Marvel Netflix Universe to delve into the character's tragic past, showcasing more of what happened to his family and offer him a chance to track down all of the people responsible for that. The show also earned praise from viewers and critics, and it likely would have carried on beyond those two seasons if Netflix hadn't cancelled the whole franchise as a result of Marvel Studios making the decision to produce their own TV shows via the Disney Plus streaming service.
Speaking of Marvel Studios, it always planned on bringing back Bernthal as a version of Frank Castle in the first season of Daredevil: Born Again, but the studio's initial plans had him, Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio (who portrays Wilson Fisk in both Daredevil shows) playing different iterations of their characters. After the show was rebooted as a revival to the Netflix series, the MCU officially canonized the events of the Netflix franchise, retroactively making it all a part of the franchise.
The post-credits scene of Daredevil: Born Again season 1's finale set the stage for Castle's standalone special as he escaped from the Kingpin's cage. Although he hasn't appeared in the second season of the revival series, One Last Kill streams the week after the season 2 finale - reminding viewers that DD and The Punisher are still closely related. And hey, between those two having their week-apart releases and Krsuten Ritter's Jessica Jones returning in Born Again season 2, it really is like having the Marvel Netflix Universe back on our screens all again.
As Walking Dead fans, we of course best known Bernthal for his legendary performance as Shane Walsh in the first two seasons of the original TWD series. This performance is very much credited for catapulting him to superstardom and it will undoubtedly remain one of his most famous roles for the rest of his career. However, the most famous role now belongs to The Punisher and Marvel fans are darn near giddy at the prospect of seeing Frank Castle back on our screens in a leading capacity.
Bernthal is co-writing the script for One Last Kill alongside director Reinaldo Marcus Green. Considering nobody knows his version of Castle better than him, that's an incredibly compelling reason to tune into this one. As if you needed another one!
The Punisher: One Last Kill arrives on Disney Plus on May 12, 2026.
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