A photo of Charlie Cox in his black Daredevil costume did the rounds online over the weekend, and we now have some never-before-seen shots of Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle in his Punisher outfit.
These are believed to be unused promo images from the first season of Daredevil: Born Again, and show Bernthal striking a series of intimidating poses.
Fans have been having some fun with the one shot of Frank letting out a battle cry while raising an axe over his head, using the image for memes and the like. Though Bernthal's performance as the ultra-violent vigilante has been widely praised, some feel that he does tend to go a little OTT with the intensity at times (the yelling and grunting isn't for everyone).
Bernthal will return as Castle for the second season of Born Again, and is set to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. He will also take the lead in a new Disney+ Punisher Special Presentation.
Plot details for the Special Presentation are still mostly under wraps, but some previous set photos seemed to confirm that Castle will indeed be facing off against Isabella Carmela Magdalena Gnucci, aka "Ma Gnucci." Judith Light is believed to have been cast as the villain, but this has yet to be made official.
Gnucci was the ruthless head of a crime family who made her debut in the fourth issue of Garth Ennis' Marvel Knights run. She came close to ending The Punisher's crusade on a number of occasions, hiring formidable henchmen such as The Russian to track down her relentless enemy.
Bernthal also co-wrote the script with his We Own This City director Reinaldo Marcus Green, who will helm the Special.
"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," Marvel's head of streaming Bard Winderbaum said after the project was made official. "It's so exciting."
Winderbaum went on to reveal that the idea for a Punisher standalone story manifested during production on Born Again, which saw Matt Murdock team-up with his old frenemy to take down members of Wilson Fisk's anti-vigilante task force.
"Bernthal is a generational actor," Winderbaum added. "He's incredible what he brings to all the roles he plays, but particularly Frank Castle. And he's a great writer. He knows the character inside and out.... Also, 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."