Set to stream on D+ in 2026, The Punisher Special Presentation, co-written by star Jon Bernthal and Reinaldo Marcus Green, has begun filming in New York City. While no details have been officially revealed nor any cat members outside of Bernthal, a report earlier this year from Marvel insider Daniel Richtman revealed the likely villain of the project. Now, leaked photos from the set seem to confirm that report.
It’s like a shotgun blast of a story, but also has all the pathos and emotion that you want out of a Frank Castle story.
–Brad Winderbaum on The Punisher Special Presentation
Among photos of storefronts being constructed for the Marvel Television Special Presentation, Gnucci’s Restaurant can be seen, likely confirming that Isabella “Ma” Gnucci will indeed be the main antagonist of The Punisher.
The head of the Gnucci Crime Family, Ma Gnucci tried to take Frank Castle out in Volume 5 of The Punisher, written by Garth Ennis. The 12-issue arc, known as “Welcome Back, Frank”, launched Ennis’ 49-issue run with the character and has long been hailed as a classic Punisher tale. Harboiled and gruesome, “Welcome Back, Frank” took the character back to his roots and allowed him to do what he does best: kill bad guys with extreme prejudice…and a flamethrower. In terms of MCU Punisher continuity, Ma Gnucci makes quite a bit of sense as an antagonist for the project given that Frank wiped out several members of the Gnucci Crime Family, including her son Tony, in Episode 1.01 of The Punisher, “3 AM.“
It’s going to be dark; Frank has no interest in breaking out the darkness. It’s not going to be easy. I don’t know if that’s the Netflix tone then that’s what it’s going to be. It will not be Punisher-lite, I promise you that.
–Jon Bernthal on The Punisher Special Presentation
After escaping Wilson Fisk’s dungeon prison in Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again, it looks as though Bernthal’s Castle will find himself in the sights of a second mob boss in The Punisher Special Presentation. With Vincent D’Onofrio just recently completing production on Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Mayor Fisk may also have a small role in the project, perhaps even alerting the Gnuccis to Frank’s presence on the NYC streets.
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