2026’s The Punisher Reboot Release Plan Confirms Major MCU Milestone

by

Disney+ and the Marvel Cinematic Universe are set to make a splash with The Punisher‘s Special Presentation, debuting alongside Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Following the successful revival of Daredevil: Born Again, this one-time special will continue the trend of bringing back popular street-level Marvel shows. Starring Jon Bernthal reprising his role as The Punisher, the special was filmed in New York last year and picks up the story after his two-season Netflix run and his initial appearance in Born Again. However, July 31st will mark a significant moment for the character, as this special will be the final appearance of The Punisher, coinciding with his return alongside Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Jon Bernthal recently told ScreenRant that the upcoming Disney+ special featuring The Punisher will likely be released around the same time as the new series, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This means fans will see Bernthal in both a movie and a Disney+ show within a few months.

The new Netflix series is being released in a groundbreaking way: it’s the first time Marvel has launched a Disney+ show at the same time as a major movie in theaters. This allows fans to experience both the show and the film and see how they connect.

Besides a link to Spider-Man 4, the upcoming Punisher Disney+ special will also tie into the timeline and events of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, according to Marvel Television.

Alex Perez from The Cosmic Circus suggests the unusual release strategy for the new Punisher series is designed to show how the character arrives at his starting point in the “Brand New Day” storyline. We can likely expect it on Disney+ sometime between the completion of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 and July.

The new Special Presentation feels similar to the old Agents of SHIELD show. Like that series, it releases episodes that loosely connect to recent Marvel movies. Agents of SHIELD often tied into events from the big screen Marvel universe – showing things like the fall of Hydra or adventures with Asgardian characters like Sif – but even now, fans still debate whether those episodes are officially part of the main Marvel storyline.

I’ve been following the Marvel Cinematic Universe closely, and while we’ve been waiting for some connections, Marvel Studios has actually released six other Disney+ shows that really link up with the movies, even if they came out quite a while after those films.

Marvel Studios’ 6 Biggest Movie/Disney+ Crossovers

WandaVision / Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

As a huge Marvel fan, I always thought WandaVision was brilliant because it really set the stage for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It introduced the Darkhold, which was key, and it was where we finally saw Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda truly become the Scarlet Witch. Plus, we met her sons, Billy and Tommy, which was a huge moment! It felt like everything in Multiverse of Madness built on what was established in WandaVision.

Despite being part of the same cinematic universe, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness came out about a year and a half after WandaVision. Interestingly, the director of Doctor Strange 2, Sam Raimi, admitted he hadn’t seen WandaVision, and many believe this negatively impacted his film.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier / Captain America: Brave New World

Before Anthony Mackie fully took on the role of Captain America in the movie Captain America: Brave New World, Marvel Studios showed how he earned the shield in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

The six-part Disney+ series came out nearly four years before the recent Captain America 4 film, which didn’t perform well in theaters and received mixed reviews. This has unfortunately kept one of the MCU’s newer characters from appearing on screen for too long.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings / She-Hulk

In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, there was a surprising and somewhat odd scene where Benedict Wong, playing Wong, had a cage fight against Tim Roth’s Abomination.

The reason for that unusual team-up wasn’t revealed for about a year, finally being explained in the series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. It turned out to be part of Wong’s preparation to become the Sorcerer Supreme.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special / Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

After being temporarily let go by Marvel Studios and briefly working for DC, James Gunn eventually became the head of DC. This six-year gap occurred between the releases of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Vol. 3.

While fans eagerly anticipated the next big Marvel movie, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special offered a quick and enjoyable diversion, featuring Drax and Mantis in an adventure with Kevin Bacon. Although it hinted at the upcoming conclusion of the trilogy, there was still about six months between the special and that final movie.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever / Ironheart

Although Marvel Studios promoted Ironheart as a follow-up to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – and it was made with the same director, Ryan Coogler, who introduced Riri Williams on the big screen – the two projects actually came out nearly three years apart.

Originally, Marvel Studios planned to release Ironheart on Disney+ in 2023, shortly after the release of Black Panther 2. However, the project was delayed and didn’t actually premiere for several years.

Ms. Marvel / The Marvels

Not only did Ms. Marvel connect to The Marvels by introducing Kamala Khan (played by Iman Vellani), but the source of her powers – the Kree Quantum Bands – were also key to the plot, causing the three heroines to switch places with each other.

Even though the Ms. Marvel finale included a scene teasing the movie The Marvels and showing Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, fans still had to wait more than a year for The Marvels to come out.

Read More

2026-01-24 13:38