Jon Bernthal’s ‘Punisher’ Special ‘One Last Kill’ Just Dominated Disney+ Streaming Charts

Marvel’s approach to Disney+ content has shifted considerably over the past few years, moving away from an endless stream of multi-episode series toward more selective, standalone projects designed to make a bigger impact in less time. Few of those experiments have paid off quite as decisively as Jon Bernthal’s return to one of his signature roles.

That comeback arrived in the form of ‘The Punisher: One Last Kill,’ a single Marvel Television Special Presentation that dropped on Disney+ back in May. Despite running just 51 minutes and existing as a standalone entry rather than a full season, the special has quietly outperformed nearly everything else Marvel released on the platform this year.

According to Luminate’s estimated season views metric, ‘The Punisher: One Last Kill’ was the top Disney+ original of the first half of 2026, earning 12.2 million views, a figure that put it ahead of full multi-episode series competing for attention during the same stretch. That’s a remarkable outcome for a project that amounts to less than an hour of total content.

The special’s existence traces back to a conversation between Bernthal and director Reinaldo Marcus Green, who also co-wrote the script alongside Bernthal himself. Green described how the project came together during an interview about the special’s production. “It started with a conversation up in Ojai,” Green said. “I remember him saying Marvel wanted to do a special, and he asked if I would be open to it. It was amazing to have the character himself say, ‘I want you to do this.’ There is no greater compliment as a filmmaker.”

That personal investment from Bernthal shows throughout the finished product, which follows Frank Castle as he searches for meaning beyond revenge, only to find himself pulled back into violence by forces beyond his control. Deborah Ann Woll, Jason R. Moore, and Judith Light round out the cast alongside Bernthal.

‘One Last Kill’ also marked the first Marvel Special Presentation since 2022’s ‘Werewolf by Night’ and ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special,’ reviving a format that had gone quiet for years. That gap makes its success even more significant, effectively proving the concept still has real commercial and creative value within Marvel’s current strategy.

Critics responded warmly too, with the special earning a Certified Fresh rating of 75 percent on Rotten Tomatoes alongside an 87 percent audience score, both marks exceeding the reception of the original 2017 Netflix Punisher series. According to FlixPatrol, the special reached the number one spot on Disney+’s overall streaming charts within a single day of release, and reclaimed that top position again two weeks later after briefly slipping.

Beyond its immediate streaming success, ‘One Last Kill’ also serves a larger strategic purpose within Marvel’s broader plans for the character. The special connects directly to Frank Castle’s live-action feature film debut in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ giving longtime fans a fresh, standalone introduction to the character before he steps onto the big screen for the first time.

Bernthal has now played Frank Castle for over a decade, dating back to his first appearance in the second season of the original Netflix ‘Daredevil’ series. Positioning this special as a bridge between his television history and his upcoming film debut gives the character’s evolution a clear, deliberate arc rather than treating the transition as an afterthought.

For a single, standalone special competing against full seasons of ongoing series, topping Luminate’s season views metric for the entire first half of 2026 is a genuinely impressive feat. It reinforces just how much appetite still exists for Bernthal’s take on the Punisher, even in a format far shorter than a traditional television season.

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