Jon Bernthal discusses Marvel's support for The Punisher: One Last Kill

Last night at a fan screening event in New York City ahead of The Punisher: One Last Kill’s premiere, ScreenRant sat down with star and co-writer Jon Bernthal alongside director and co-writer Reinaldo Marcus Green for an extended conversation about Frank Castle’s brutal return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The event marked a rare launch for Marvel Television, with Punisher: One Last Kill serving as an immediate followup to Daredevil: Born Again season 2 after Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle remained absent throughout the season’s story. Across our discussion, the pair opened up about building the special as a stripped-down psychological film, why the story begins with Frank at absolute rock bottom, and how Marvel and Disney ultimately backed one of the darkest Punisher stories ever put on screen.

As part of ScreenRant’s exclusive cover story coverage, Bernthal and Green also discussed the project’s deeply personal themes surrounding fatherhood, grief, veteran trauma, and hopelessness, along with the practical fire stunt Bernthal performed himself during production. The duo repeatedly emphasized that One Last Kill grew out of years of conversations about who Frank Castle really is underneath the violence and what happens once vengeance stops giving his life meaning.

If we're not going to do it right, we're not going to do it.

Jon Bernthal made it clear throughout the conversation that One Last Kill only worked if the creative team fully committed to exploring Frank Castle at his lowest point emotionally and psychologically. Bernthal said previous attempts to move the character forward “didn't really seem genuine” to him because audiences never witnessed the emotional breaking point themselves.

We also have photos from the event and several ScreenRant’s exclusive images to share for Jon Bernthal's most personal and challenging Marvel project yet.

Jon Bernthal Wanted Frank Castle At Absolute Rock Bottom In Punisher: One Last Kill

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For Bernthal, the central question behind One Last Kill_ cuts directly to the core of who Frank Castle really is.

** Jon Bernthal: I think one of the things that we're always trying to center on with Frank is who is this man? Who is he really? Is he the grieving father and husband, or is he the man who's most comfortable sort of waist-deep in blood and guts?

Bernthal said the story grew out of a question that has followed Frank Castle across decades of comics, films, and television adaptations. “What do you do when there's nothing left? What do you do when there's no one left to kill?” became the foundation for the Marvel Television Special Presentation, which Bernthal co-wrote with Green.

Bernthal wanted audiences to experience Frank Castle’s collapse in real time rather than jumping ahead to a new version of the character. “I didn't want to see any sort of evolution in the character before the fans did,” Bernthal explained. “I didn't want that to happen off-screen, and that's really what the purpose was here.”

What do you do when there's nothing left? What do you do when there's no one left to kill?

Bernthal wanted audiences to experience Frank Castle’s collapse in real time rather than jumping ahead to a new version of the character. That idea led Bernthal and Green to begin the special with Frank Castle at his absolute lowest point emotionally.

Bernthal: I think it's always been sort of this question and this thing that Marvel has always been trying to do with the characters, how can we really take a step forward? And every time we sort of tried to take that step forward, it didn't really seem genuine to me. I felt like we really needed to see what rock bottom looked like with Frank, and I think you're going to see it in this.

The Punisher: One Last Kill Is Built Like A Movie

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The pair approached One Last Kill_ less as episodic television, like The Punisher had on Netflix years ago, and more as a contained psychological film unfolding across one very wild and transformative day. Bernthal described it as “the day of the life and a film of this unbelievably important day in Frank Castle's life when this sort of big acute change takes place,” adding that “through I think 95% of the piece, I don't say anything. It's not a dialogue-heavy piece.”

Green revealed that Bernthal had already spent years building the emotional framework for the story before the two officially began writing together.

Green: Jon had this idea for a while, and I think he had it in his back pocket. So the first drafts of the script were sort of written, and a lot of it was in his head still coming down. So for me, it was coming in very fresh and also fresh to the character. I hadn't opened up my comic books in 25 years, so it was nice to come in with a different perspective to what Jon was already building. He had already built so much of the story, and then I was coming in and trying to find a way to make it cinematic. How do we turn this beautiful script into a movie?

According to Green, the emotional core of One Last Kill ultimately came down to a father protecting a child, unlocking that thing Frank was missing.

Green: It was a father-daughter story, and nobody knows that better than Jon and I. If you boil it down, the core of it, and you're just saying, "Wow, this is a man who will protect me." When you hear that little girl calling from him at the end of the special, and he has a decision to make, I mean, that's the movie, and that's Jon. That's who Jon is. And it's amazing to kind of see that moment kind of unfold throughout the process.

Jon Bernthal Drew From Veteran Trauma & Real-Life Marine Raiders For Frank Castle’s Story

_ The Punisher: One Last Kill Jon Bernthal Exclusive - ScreenRant Summer TV Preview 2026Credit: Walt Disney Studios

Much of the emotional foundation for The Punisher: One Last Kill_, and the reason why Bernthal believes the character resonates for so many, comes from Bernthal’s relationships with Marine Raiders, Green Berets, and veterans he has worked closely with for years. Several attended the New York screening alongside the cast and filmmakers.

Bernthal: Yeah, look, I mean a lot of the process of building this thing, when Rei and I were building it, a lot of it had to do... I introduced Rei to these people that are extremely important to me. There's a group of Marine Raiders and Green Berets that are all here tonight, and these guys have been with me a long time. They're family to me. Their families are family to my family, and it's really the psychology of what happens when people have given so much, sacrificed so much, and lost so much, and then they come back and try and figure out what's next. And that's really what the kernel of the idea of going, this sort of version of Frank or the Punisher, however you want to call it, we needed to kind of start with that, that feeling of complete and utter hopelessness, and to feel that you're responsible for everything bad in the world and that there's no light anywhere and you're completely lost.

_Close... And to be honest with you, the more tip-of-the-spear guys that I talk to in that community, it's a very common feeling and I really wanted to start there. And I've said it before, I do believe there's a little bit of Frank Castle on everyone, and I feel like there's a reason. There's a reason why people are drawn to this character, and I think it's beyond just sort of the violence and the brutality and the vengeance. I believe it's about this sort of hopelessness that at certain points in our life kind of plagues all of us.

Bernthal reveals that those conversations directly informed Frank Castle’s psychological state at the beginning of the special. He also discussed the psychological condition known as anomie, which many veterans struggle with after returning home.

Bernthal: There's a psychological condition called anomie, which so many vets suffer from, where so much of the time it does result in taking your own life. And you just feel like you're completely enveloped with utter hopelessness.

That emotional descent includes one of the special’s heaviest sequences, where Frank Castle contemplates suicide, a topic Marvel would not have touched years ago as evidenced in a deleted scene from The Incredible Hulk_. Bernthal revealed the moment was partially inspired by a real story shared by Marine Raider and producer Nick Koumalatsos.

“He went to the beach one day and went to go take his own life, and he felt this unbelievable connection with one of his children, and he decided to go the other way, and I really wanted to start with that.”

The Punisher: One Last Kill Ends With Frank Castle Finding A New Purpose

Despite the darkness, One Last Kill leaves Frank Castle in a fundamentally different emotional place by the end of the story. Bernthal said Frank begins to understand that protecting families and keeping people safe may become a new way of honoring the family he lost.

Bernthal: I think the idea, and I hope we are able to do it in a way that doesn't feel spoon-fed or too kind of on the nose. But I think through the course of this day with that little girl sort of giving him the gift that she does, and for him to go pass that along and put that trinket of hope, that trinket of life, of gratitude, of love on his daughter's grave, it's the first time he hasn't put a trinket that belonged to somebody that he killed for his daughter. And so maybe by helping other families stay together, by fighting for justice, by keeping people safe, maybe he can honor his family that way. And I think that that is a real big step for him.

Frank Castle still operates with brutality and rage throughout the special, but Bernthal sees the ending as the beginning of a new purpose for the character.

Frank ain't looking for the light. It's just not who he is.

Marvel & Disney Let Jon Bernthal Push Punisher: One Last Kill Further Than Ever

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Marvel and Disney fully supported the creative vision Bernthal brought into the project from the earliest conversations and trusted the filmmakers to push Frank Castle further emotionally and psychologically than previous appearances. Green explains:

Green: When Jon and I first talked about this project, he knew this character so deeply. One of the first things he said, if we're not going to do it right, we're not going to do it. And the fact that Disney allowed us to do what was in Jon’s head and put on the paper was incredible.

Bernthal echoed that sentiment repeatedly throughout the interview and admitted he remained surprised by how far Marvel ultimately allowed them to push Frank Castle emotionally and physically.

Bernthal: Frank doesn't belong to me. It doesn't belong to Rei. Frank belongs to the fans, belongs to the members of the military, members of law enforcement, people who Frank just exists in their hearts. I do look at it as a responsibility, and I'm honestly astounded that they let us do what we did.

Bernthal said Marvel leadership fully backed the darker direction for One Last Kill_ even during moments when the filmmakers questioned whether the material would make it into the final project.

Bernthal: They really said like, ‘Okay, man, let's do it. Let's see what you got.’ There were many days where they're not going to let us do this. And they did. I really believe that the fans deserve this. They need this level of brutality and darkness, and Frank ain't looking for the light. It's just not who he is.

Bernthal's not the only one taking creative ownership of the character he's played for years. Ryan Reynolds does this with Deadpool, of course, but on the Marvel TV side, Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio helped get Daredevil: Born Again re-tooled and took on Executive Producer roles for the series going forward.

Bernthal: I love seeing that both Vince and Charlie and these people that care so much about it, there's nobody better than those guys. They care so much. They're so smart creatively. They're such incredible actors. So the fact that they do have as much input as they do, I think that's great. That's right. So honestly, it's a real testament to the higher-ups.”

Jon Bernthal Literally Set Himself On Fire For Punisher: One Last Kill

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The star's commitment to bringing Frank Castle to life, in the toughest way possible, extended to the production itself. The action speaks for itself, but one of the special’s most intense sequences involved Bernthal performing a practical fire stunt himself on set, something Green described as a major turning point for Frank Castle emotionally and physically within the story.

Green: It's all driven by story and that's a critical moment in the special where it's a turning point for Jon's character, but to have your number one on the call sheet put himself on fire, it's pretty special to say the least.

When we asked whether the flames were practical, Green laughed before confirming the sequence was completely real.

Green: Legit flames, legit practical flames, and everyone was trying to walk him off the ledge, myself included. I'm like, "You sure you want to do this? But if you want to go back, we're going to go back for you to do this." But it's not for the faint of heart to put yourself through that kind of experience, but to watch Jon, the preparation for doing that, but he didn't do it to look cool. I think that's what makes Jon so special. He did it because it was important to the story, it was important to the character.

According to Green, the sequence was always envisioned as one of the defining moments of One Last Kill_, with the filmmakers building the scene around Frank Castle protecting innocent people and reconnecting with a larger sense of purpose.

Green: And so to put yourself through that type of risk because it's a character moment, I think that's a testament to how important the Punisher is to Jon, to the fans and why we wanted that moment to feel so real. Look, we had an incredible stunt team, an incredible stunt supervisor; there's too many folks to thank here, including our Marine Raiders. There's so many people that helped to orchestrate that moment and that started in the script. We always knew we wanted to do something special. We always knew it was about Frank fighting for the community. We always knew it was about Frank protecting people, and what was the best way for us into that point? So when it came to that and we saw the previs, it just felt like, okay, this is it. This is the moment. It's a critical moment.

Green also credited the stunt team, Marine Raiders, and production crew for helping execute the sequence safely while maintaining the grounded realism the filmmakers wanted for the moment.

“It's one of my favorite sequences in the piece, but again, it's for the story point that it makes. It's the first time in our piece that our unreliable narrator is now real. That's real fire, and Jon is awake, and now the beast is unleashed, so to speak, in that moment.”

What's Next For Jon Bernthal's Punisher After One Last Kill?

_ Punisher One Last Kill Star Jon Bernthal As Frank Castle in Spider-Man Brand New Day.

With Frank Castle already confirmed to return to the big screen this summer in Spider-Man: Brand New Day_, Bernthal also teased where the character could go next after the events of One Last Kill, explaining that Frank’s future still comes back to the same emotional foundation that shaped this special in the first place: family.

Bernthal: Look, I've said this so many times before, and I know that Rei 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.

Even after the emotional evolution Frank experiences in One Last Kill, Bernthal still sees Frank Castle as a man fundamentally incapable of peace or comfort.

Bernthal stopped short of revealing specific future plans for the character, but he hinted that audiences may soon see a version of Frank Castle operating with a much more personal sense of purpose.

Bernthal: 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

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Action

Crime

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Release Date**

May 12, 2026

Runtime

60 Minutes

Director

Reinaldo Marcus Green

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Cast

Jon Bernthal

Frank Castle / The Punisher

Colton Hill

Colton

Jamal Lloyd Johnson

Barry

Nick Koumalatsos

Nick

Writers**

Reinaldo Marcus Green, Ross Andru, Jon Bernthal, Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr.

Franchise(s)

The Punisher

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A MARVEL TELEVISION SPECIAL PRESENTATION: THE PUNISHER: ONE LAST KILL debuts May 12 at 6PM PT / 9PM ET, exclusively on Disney+.