The Punisher special presentation began filming in New York City this week, and set photos suggest it will introduce a major villain to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Pictures from the production popped up on social media, showing some slight alterations to New York City streets and storefronts. One exterior photo shows “Gnucci’s Family Restaurant,” which is likely a reference to the Gnucci crime family from Marvel Comics. If the story here is anything like Frank Castle’s (Jon Bernthal) run-in with the Gnucci family there, this could be his bloodiest story yet. It may even lead to the most brutal kill depicted in the MCU to date.
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Bernthal has co-written a stand-alone Punisher special with Reinaldo Marcus Green, who will direct this little detour. It begins filming this week and is expected to air sometime in 2026. Presumably, it will fill in the gaps for Frank Castle between Daredevil: Born Again and Spider-Man: Brand New Day where he is expected to make an appearance. With Born Again Season 2 airing in March, we could also see the Punisher special even earlier.
Isabella “Ma” Gnucci made her first comic book appearance in 2000, in an arc written by Garth Ennis with art by Steve Dillon. In it, Frank Castle begins a new crusade against crime by killing all three sons of the Gnucci crime family — the biggest mafia organization in New York at that time. Ma Gnucci pulls out all the stops to seek revenge on the Punisher, and even tracks him down personally. She chases him into the Central park Zoo, where he releases captive animals to distract her. She ends up brutally maimed by a group of polar bears.
Even then, the carnage isn’t over. Ma continues trying to kill the Punisher, until he eventually goes to her mansion to confront her. He sets the house on fire, and when she throws herself out of a window, he throws her back into the flames to die. Ma makes other appearances in later comics, but in all likelihood, her first MCU appearance will probably be modeled after her first comic book story.
That doesn’t mean it will be identical. Born Again Season 1 left Frank in a pretty dire situation, help captive by corrupt police in a New York City controlled by the corrupt Mayor Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). The Punisher special will likely have to explain how he gets out of that situation in greater detail than the post-credits scene gave us, and even then, pivoting to a straightforward mob story might be tricky.
On the other hand, Frank may appear in Born Again Season 2 next, and work out all these issues there. In that case, his streaming special would likely bridge the gap between Born Again Season 2 and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. We can only speculate at this point, but wherever this is going, the path will be bloody. The Punisher special presentation is filming now and is expected to premiere in 2026 on Disney+.
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