New set photos from Marvel’s upcoming Punisher Special Presentation have sparked buzz among fans, seemingly confirming the appearance of one of Frank Castle’s most iconic foes.
After his intense return in Daredevil: Born Again, Jon Bernthal’s Punisher will now headline a Disney+ one-off that promises to push the character back into brutal street-level storytelling.
Filming in New York has offered a sneak peek at what’s to come. The leaked images capture Castle in a tense face-off with a dark-haired woman in a wheelchair-quickly identified by comic readers as Ma Gnucci, a ruthless mafia matriarch from the classic Punisher Max comics. Her comic book story is pure mayhem: after Castle wipes out her sons and leaves her for dead in a bear attack, Gnucci returns as a vengeful quadriplegic still hellbent on revenge. The show appears to pick up that thread, with Ma pointing a menacing finger at Castle during a playground confrontation.
Ma Gnucci’s inclusion feels like a return to gritty form for Punisher fans who missed the raw energy of his Daredevil Season 2 debut. Some are even wondering why this showdown isn’t getting a full series arc. Still, her role in the presentation suggests Marvel is trying something sharper, tighter-and maybe even bloodier-than recent efforts.
But Castle’s next steps won’t be confined to the streets. He’s also confirmed to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, teaming up with Tom Holland’s web-slinger for a surprisingly grounded tale. Marvel boss Kevin Feige hinted that this crossover marks Holland’s first real step into “proper Spider-Man” territory-protecting the city from street-level threats rather than galactic calamities.
“When you do that, you say, okay, who are the other street-level characters that we’ve never seen him interact with?” Feige explained. “And of course, I love that The Punisher started in a Spider-Man comic.”
While a release date for the Punisher special is still under wraps, Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31, 2026. In the meantime, fans can only speculate what kind of chaos Castle and Ma Gnucci will unleash in their brief-but likely brutal-encounter.