MCU fans have been looking forward to seeing Jon Bernthal reunite with Tom Holland on Spider-Man: Brand New Day for the last year, since it was announced that The Punisher was joining the superhero flick. However, fans of Frank Castle don’t have to wait that long to see the iconic antihero’s next moves. The Punisher: One Last Kill is set to hit the 2026 TV schedule, and critics have strong (and not all positive) opinions about the new Marvel offering.
Jon Bernthal, naturally, leads The Punisher standalone special (streaming with a Disney+ subscription), where we’ll see Frank Castle’s attempt to live a life without the need for vigilante justice. After that brutal One Last Kill trailer, though, we can assume that plan doesn't pan out. Zach Pope writes on X (Twitter) that fans of the character are going to love this:
The Punisher: One Last Kill is an emotional ticking time bomb that slowly builds before erupting into a Raw, Brutal, Explosive finale. If you love Bernthal’s Punisher, you’re going to LOVE this. The action is raw, vicious & gives the feeling of watching a Punisher comic come to life.
@Klepcx of Critix Media says The Punisher: One Last Kill will leave MCU fans stunned by how brutal this Marvel Special Presentation is, saying there’s “nothing in the superhero genre right now quite like” it. The critic continues:
💀 🩸 The Punisher: One Last Kill is the bloodiest we’ve ever seen the MCU get. It makes Deadpool & Wolverine look PG-13. Narratively, it’s emotional and patient, taking the time to reintroduce us to Frank Castle while still delivering enough brutal action and visceral violence to leave audiences stunned by just how far the MCU is willing to go. More than anything, the special reminds us that true evil still exists within the MCU, and there’s only one man broken enough to stare directly into its face. Vengeance on the small screen has never looked so hardcore. 🩸
Leo Rydel also speaks to the violence of it all, saying the lead actor is at his best in the upcoming Marvel show. The critic tweets:
WOW! Jon Bernthal is at his best version of The Punisher yet! One Last Kill is BLOODY and BROODING, yet vulnerable and hopeful! The action sequences are TERRIFIC, with long takes, tons of guns, street fighting, and it's SOAKED in blood! I WANT MORE!
Dalton Burdette agrees the special is great, but rather than comment on the violence and bloody action, this critic seems moved by the “profound” quiet moments as well. Burdette writes on X:
The Punisher: One Last Kill is remarkable. Jon Bernthal continues to prove he was born to play Frank Castle. Brutal, emotional, and (somehow?) fun. The action is *stunning* and the quiet moments are profound. Excuse me while I watch this a million more times.
The first reactions to the Disney+ show aren’t all so glowing. While everyone seems to agree that Jon Bernthal is doing his best work here, the material he’s working with is leaving some critics wanting. The Koalition’s @sagesurge posts:
The Punisher: One Last Kill is about Disney testing their violence, feat. a broken man who needs stop the voices that haunt him daily & has to literally fight for his mental survival. Is it groundbreaking? No. But Jon Bernthal makes Frank 3-dimensional, even with little to no script.
Film Posers’ @gaby_burgos27 takes the criticism a step further, citing a lack of character development. She says:
Slightly disappointed by The Punisher: One Last Kill, as a huge fan of this iteration of the character, there was nothing new that we learned about Frank Castle, it felt like a recap of everything we've seen before. The action was fantastic, but I was left expecting more.
Cody Leach, movie fan and critic, wonders why we need to be reintroduced to Jon Bernthal’s character in this way, especially if there’s nothing new to learn. He tweets:
The Punisher: One Last Kill delivers on Frank Castle laying waste to bad guys and Bernthal is awesome as always. That said, I don’t understand the point of this as a 45 min standalone. We re-explore his origin and set him up to now be in full Punisher mode. We’ve done this already…
If you’re tuning into The Punisher: One Last Kill for some violent fight sequences and to see that version of Jon Bernthal we love to hate, it sounds like you won’t be disappointed. However, nobody’s apparently going to glean any new morsels of information about the antihero.
The Punisher standalone special premieres at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, May 12, streaming on Disney+.
