Another Canceled Netflix Show Being Revived on Disney+: ‘The Punisher’ Special In the Works

Another one of Netflix’s The Defenders is being revived on Disney+. We already knew Jon Bernthal will return as Frank Castle a.k.a. The Punisher in Marvel’s current revival project Daredevil: Born Again, but Entertainment Weekly has learned that New York City’s favorite rifle-toting anti-hero will star in his own TV special on Disney+, similar to Marvel’s other specials like Werewolf By Night or the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

Bernthal is co-writing the script for the new special with his collaborator and We Own This City director Reinaldo Marcus Green, who will also direct this standalone episode. EW says the episode will tie in with Daredevil: Born Again; at some point in that series, Matt Murdock will recruit The Punisher for a violent act that he’s unwilling to do as Daredevil, and the new special will revolve around that event.

“Bernthal is a generational actor,” Brad Winderbaum, the head of Marvel Television, told EW. “He’s incredible…I love Punisher, but I love Jon’s Punisher in particular. The idea that he’s in the MCU and can bring that to the greater universe, especially the more grounded street-level stuff, is a huge opportunity and, as a fan, the greatest thing ever.”

Daredevil: Born Again‘s first season (of two) will launch March 4 on Disney+. Given that Born Again’s second season is currently filming, it is likely that the Punisher’s standalone TV special will launch sometime during season 2. It is a continuation of the cancelled Netflix series Daredevil, and will feature nearly all of the original series’ main cast, including Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), Bullseye (Wilson Bethel), and Matt Murdock’s best friends and law partners Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll).