Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle surrounded by ghosts of Marine Corps soldiers in The Punisher_ One Last Kill
The Punisher: One Last Kill is the latest Marvel Special Presentation in the MCU, but despite this, the connections to the rest of the Multiverse Saga are fairly thin.
Marvel Special Presentations are few and far between, with the first project released under this banner being Werewolf by Night in 2022. Shortly following that, in the same year, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special became the second Special Presentation in the MCU.
However, since then, the banner has not been brought back until The Punisher: One Last Kill, which speaks to how unusual these projects are and how they seem to connect to the wider MCU in a fairly limited capacity. The Punisher: One Last Kill Does Not Have A Post-Credits Scene The Punisher: One Last Kill has no mid or post-credits scenes, with the special ending around the 45-minute mark, followed by three minutes of credits against a black backdrop.
In connection to the previous Marvel specials, Werewolf by Night also had no post-credits scene, but the GotG Holiday Special did have a short comical scene where Groot can be seen having grown into the state which then appears in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Obviously, the GotG films have much deeper roots in the MCU, but they did provide an important reveal with Groot's evolution that ended up being a larger part of the story in the 2023 sequel.
But for both Werewolf by Night and The Punisher: One Last Kill, it seems as though the stories create a small link to the world of the MCU, and therefore avoid more connections to the MCU. Traditionally, the mid and post-credits scenes in the MCU have been reserved for one of two purposes; either to deliver a brief comedy stinger, such as Ant-Man and the Wasp when a giant ant is seen playing the drums, or to create an important connection and tease for an upcoming story, as seen in Thunderbolts*'s post-credits scene when The Fantastic Four spaceship is seen arriving in the Earth-616 universe.
The Punisher Will Return In Spider-Man: Brand New Day With all of that said, it does seem that Punisher will have a larger role to play in the MCU. When the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer was released, it confirmed how significant the role of Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle would be in the upcoming film, as he has a prominent role where he stands off against the younger superhero and even aims a gun at the web-slinger.
With Spider-Man: Brand New Day set to release on July 31st, a short two and a half months after The Punisher: One Last Kill, it is clear that Frank's story will continue and be developed further in his MCU feature debut. This also seems to indicate that while major events are conspiring with superhero teams like the Avengers and The Fantastic Four set to clash in Avengers: Doomsday, the street-level heroes appear to be forming connections of their own.
This is also reinforced in the events of Daredevil: Born Again, and The Punisher: One Last Kill seems to build on the idea that these stories will continue to operate on a different plane to the rest of the MCU, but there is no telling if this divide will persist into the Multiverse Saga's ending with Avengers: Secret Wars, or if things will begin to collide across the entire MCU. Subscribe for deeper MCU and Marvel Special insights Want deeper context on Marvel Special Presentations and character crossovers?
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Regardless, The Punisher: One Last Kill serves Frank Castle's story in the MCU, and it does a fantastic job at maintaining a clear focus on this character, which seems to be a central aspect of what the Marvel Special Presentations set out to do.
As for what comes next in the Marvel Special Presentation lineup, there is no clear timeline for future projects announced under this banner. 10/10 9/10 The Punisher: One Last Kill 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed Action Crime Superhero Drama Thriller Release Date May 12, 2026 Runtime 60 Minutes Director Reinaldo Marcus Green Writers Reinaldo Marcus Green, Ross Andru, Jon Bernthal, Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr. Franchise The Punisher Cast Powered by Expand Collapse
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