Punisher Photos Tease New Marvel Villain

New behind-the-scenes photos from the filming of Marvel's Punisher Special Presentation appear to confirm the next major adversary for armed vigilante Frank Castle.

After his recent return in Daredevil: Born Again, Jon Bernthal's popular portrayal of Frank Castle, also known as The Punisher, will next headline his own standalone Special Presentation, scheduled to premiere next year on Disney+.

Plot details for the Punisher's comeback have been kept under wraps—but recent location filming in New York now seems to have revealed a pivotal scene, showing Castle apparently confronting a well-known antagonist from the Marvel comics.

Leaked images depict Castle standing opposite a dark-haired woman in a wheelchair—a figure instantly recognizable to comic fans as Isabella Carmela Magdalena "Ma" Gnucci, a mafia boss seeking revenge for Castle's murder of her sons.

Gnucci is a memorable villain with a storyline as grim as you'd expect in a Punisher tale. In the comics, her relentless quest for vengeance persists even after she is mauled by polar bears—released by Castle at the New York City zoo—leaving her a quadriplegic.

The leaked photos show Gnucci already in a wheelchair, pointing her finger at Castle as they confront each other in a playground. We won’t spoil what follows in the comics, but for those who assume Castle might take it easy on the mob boss—let’s just say you don’t know Frank.

New BTS look at ‘THE PUNISHER’.

Possible first look at Ma Gnucci. pic.twitter.com/2gBk1ZzWZm

— Daredevil Shots (@_DaredevilShots) July 23, 2025

Next year will be a busy one for the Punisher, who is also slated to appear on the big screen alongside Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. How the cheerful Holland will react to the gun-wielding vigilante remains to be seen—though reports suggest they’ll team up to subdue the Hulk once again.

"When Punisher appears in the Spider-Man film, it’ll bring a different tone," Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige recently told The Hollywood Reporter. "For the first time in Tom Holland's Spider-Man stories, we see him stepping fully into the role of a classic Spider-Man—working alone, dedicated to protecting the city, and taking on street-level crime rather than global threats.

"So naturally, we asked ourselves, which other street-level characters have we not yet seen him interact with? And of course, it’s worth remembering that The Punisher originally debuted in a Spider-Man comic."

There is currently no official release date for Frank’s solo Special Presentation. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, meanwhile, is set to hit theaters on July 31, 2026.