Fans were hoping that The Punisher: One Last Kill would serve as a lead-in to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but the Special Presentation, which is currently streaming on Disney+, is a mostly standalone story that focuses on Frank Castle's struggles with PTSD and inability to move on from the murder of his family.
Spoilers follow.
One Last Kill does leave Frank in a "better" place, however, as the antihero decides to operate as a vigilante with more of a focus on helping those targeted by criminals, as opposed to continuing his obsessive revenge mission (not that there are many people left to kill, anyway).
This is the version of the character we'll catch up with in Brand New Day, and director Reinaldo Marcus Green explains Castle's renewed sense of purpose during an interview with The Direct.
"I mean, I feel like we're coming in at the right time. I think, just as a fan of The Punisher and a fan of Jon [Bernthal], I want to see him more on screen. That trailer looks amazing. Daniel Deston Cretton is an incredible filmmaker. So just to know that I got Frank first, which is cool to get there before everybody else did, which, selfishly, is really great, and set him up... And we [now] know his psychological state before he goes into Spider-Man. I couldn't have asked for better timing for us.
So I think it's just, it's a lot of fun. I think people who are fans and people who are non-fans can still appreciate the special. You know, someone like my mother has never seen The Punisher, I think she can appreciate where Frank is in his headspace, and then maybe she'll become a fan and then go watch Spider Man. So I'm hoping that we, we can get some new audience members."
Green also weighed in on arguably the most harrowing scene in the Special: A thug brutally assaulting a homeless man before throwing his pet dog under a truck.
While speaking to Brandon Davis, the filmmaker explained why he felt it was necessary to break the "cardinal rule."