Even with a massive blockbuster like Avengers: Doomsday on the way, Marvel Studios seems to be going to great lengths to explore and expand the street-level corner of the MCU.
In this summer's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, we'll get to see a whole new (and comic-accurate) side to the web-spinner. Meanwhile, on Disney+, projects like Daredevil: Born Again and The Punisher: One Last Kill have allowed the studio to explore mature, TV-MA storytelling.
Frank Castle's Special Presentation set the stage for his story to continue in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but simultaneously left the door open to another clash between the vigilante and Ma Gnucci. The Punisher left her to escape when he chose to rescue a child, which likely explains why he'll be eager to protect Sadie Sink's mystery MCU character from the Department of Damage Control.
According to insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios is now moving ahead with a new Punisher project. We don't know whether that's another Special Presentation, a revival series, or a movie, but there are clearly big plans for Frank moving forward.
It seems obvious that any of those would follow Frank's war with Ma, likely adapting elements from the "Welcome Back, Frank" story arc by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. Jon Bernthal has already said that it was a key source of inspiration while writing One Last Kill.
In related news, @MyTimeToShineH has learned that Marvel Television is now actively searching for writers for a Heroes for Hire TV series. Mike Colter and Finn Jones will return as Luke Cage and Iron Fist in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3, so this presumably means the stage will be set for them to later reunite again in a spin-off.
Bernthal recently spoke with ScreenRant about his MCU future, dropping some big hints about how Frank's war on crime will evolve:
"Look, I've said this so many times before, and I know that [director and co-writer Reinaldo Marcus Green] understands this well because the two of us sitting here, we sit here first as husbands and fathers. That's what we are; that's our whole universe. That's why we first connected in the first place when we made King Richard."
"That is who we are, and there is no way I could ever begin to approach playing this part if I didn't fully understand what it means to love something so much greater than I love myself and be happily give my life, happily do whatever it takes for my family. And I think that's exactly where Frank is. I don't think Frank will ever be in a place of love or light or comfort or ease. I don't think that that's something that he's ever been, that he's looking for, but I do think he'll find different ways to honor them."
"I do think that there are ways now after this special that we can find him in a place where I'm not going to tip off what's coming, but what I will say is, I think you're going to get a version of him going after the bad guys, going after the people that are causing harm and havoc to good people. I think he's going to be able to start personalizing that. And with Frank, when he personalizes something, it's something to deal with."
The Punisher: One Last Kill is now streaming on Disney+. Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31.