The Punisher: One Last Kill
Marvel Television’s TV-MA Special Presentation — Now Streaming on Disney+
Jon Bernthal returns in The Punisher: One Last Kill, a Marvel Television Special Presentation released May 12, 2026, exclusively on Disney+. The 48-minute TV-MA special holds an 83% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes — the highest rating for any live-action Punisher screen adaptation, ahead of Netflix’s first season (68%) and second season (61%).
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind King Richard) and co-written by Green and Bernthal, the special takes direct inspiration from Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s 12-issue limited series “Welcome Back, Frank”, published under the Marvel Knights imprint in 2000, which first introduced the villain Ma Gnucci. Speaking about the source material, Bernthal described the run as his “north star” for the project, noting: “That ferocity and vulnerability is what makes Frank endure.”
The special opens with Danzig’s 1988 track “Mother” setting a heavy-metal tone for the mayhem that follows. Marvel Television head Brad Winderbaum described the project as “a shotgun blast of a story, but also has all the pathos and emotion that you want out of a Frank Castle story.”
(L-R) Jason R. Moore, Jon Bernthal, Nick Koumalatsos, and Colton Hill in a scene from The Punisher: One Last Kill. Moore returns as Curtis Hoyle, appearing in Frank’s hallucination sequences throughout the special. The supporting cast also includes Chelsea Brea, Dominick Mancino, Evelyn O. Vaccaro, Tom Johnson, Roe Rancell, and Mila Jaymes. (Photo courtesy of Marvel / Disney+. © 2026 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.)
Frank Castle’s MCU Journey
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Jon Bernthal debuts as Frank Castle. The Punisher clashes with Daredevil over their opposing methods of justice.
First AppearanceTwo seasons unpacking Frank’s Marine past, the murder of his family, and his evolution into a full-fledged vigilante.
26 EpisodesFrank enters the MCU proper, teaming up with Daredevil against the Anti-Vigilante Task Force before escaping from prison.
MCU DebutThe season concludes with Matt Murdock facing Wilson Fisk. Frank is absent — his whereabouts are revealed in One Last Kill.
8 Episodes48-minute TV-MA Special Presentation. Frank, broken and suicidal, faces Ma Gnucci’s bounty that sends every criminal in Little Sicily after him.
83% RT · TV-MABernthal’s first big-screen MCU appearance. The Punisher crosses paths with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Bruce Banner/Hulk, and Scorpion.
Coming Soon
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / The Punisher in Marvel Television’s The Punisher: One Last Kill. The special traces Frank’s psychological unraveling — hallucinations of dead Marine comrades, self-mutilation of his military tattoo, and a near-suicide at his family’s gravesite — before a 20-minute siege sequence forces him back into action. (Photo courtesy of Marvel / Disney+. © 2026 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.)
Ma Gnucci’s Ultimatum. Judith Light — the Tony Award-winning actress known for Transparent and Poker Face — portrays Ma Gnucci, the wheelchair-bound matriarch of the Gnucci crime family. Having survived Frank’s annihilation of her husband and sons (seen in brief flashbacks within the special), she places a bounty on Castle’s head and announces that every criminal in Little Sicily will descend upon his apartment at precisely 6:47 pm — the exact time he killed her son Carlo.
The Siege. What follows is an assault sequence that draws inspiration from action cinema including The Raid, John Wick, Dredd, Sisu, and The Night Comes for Us. Frank fights through stairwells, hallways, rooftops, and intersections using fists, knives, firearms (pistols, machine guns, shotguns), a hand axe, a metal pipe, a coffee pot, and — in a face-off against a heavily tattooed marauder widely cited as the most brutal moment in the entire MCU — a ballpoint pen. Hatebreed’s “I Will Be Heard” soundtracks one of the fight sequences.
Ma Gnucci’s Fate and What Comes Next. Ma Gnucci does not die in One Last Kill. The matriarch escapes during the climactic battle. Director Reinaldo Marcus Green described the special’s title as “a misdirect in the best way,” clarifying that it refers to Frank himself rather than a literal final mission.
The special serves as a narrative bridge between Frank’s escape from prison in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 and his upcoming theatrical debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, arriving in cinemas July 31, 2026. Disney+ launched a dedicated Punisher content hub that consolidates all Frank Castle appearances chronologically — from the Netflix seasons through Born Again and this special. Executive producers on the project were Bernthal, Green, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, and Sana Amanat.
Critical Response. The special’s 83% Rotten Tomatoes score sits above both seasons of Netflix’s The Punisher (68% and 61%) and the earlier feature films. Jordan Moreau of Variety wrote that “thanks to Bernthal finally letting loose, ‘One Last Kill’ cements his Punisher as one of Marvel’s most singular performances.” Nick Schager of The Daily Beast described the special as “like John Wick times one thousand” in its approach to ultra-violence. The special is the third MCU Special Presentation (following Werewolf by Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, both 2022) and the fourth installment of MCU Phase Six.
Where Frank Ends Up. By the end of the runtime, Frank Castle has found a new purpose beyond vengeance — protecting innocents caught in the chaos created by the Gnucci power vacuum. The special closes with Frank having reclaimed his skull-painted armor, ahead of his collision with Spider-Man on the big screen.
