News Daredevil: Born Again How Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Punisher: One Last Kill, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day Are All (Supposedly) Connected Marvel’s next big releases share some crucial connections By Matthew Byrd | Published on March 24, 2026 Photo: Disney+ Comment 0 Share New Share Photo: Disney+ Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Punisher: One Last Kill, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day are not just the next major entries in the MCU; they’re three closely related projects that will all feed into each other as part of Marvel’s attempt to bring some order back to their unwieldy cinematic universe ahead of Doomsday‘s debut. But while we know that the Daredevil show, The Punisher special, and the Spider-Man movie are all connected, Marvel has been characteristically cagey regarding the specifics of that relationship. “It’s complicated,” one might say. But because I (and you, if you’re here, I assume) refuse to wait for answers, here’s a breakdown of how those projects are (and are not) connected to each other. How Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Punisher: One Last Kill, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day Fit Into the MCU Timeline Timeline-wise, Daredevil: Born Again season two is set roughly six months after the end of the show’s first season and just before the events of Spider-Man: Brand New Day (the exact time gap between the two is unknown). The Born Again team has been very clear about the show’s lead-in status (including how some Born Again characters will appear in Brand New Day), even if they’re being elusive about the details. More on that in a bit. Punisher: One Last Kill is a bit trickier to nail down. Charlie Cox has said that the special “does connect into the time and place that Daredevil: Born Again season two takes place,” which would seem to suggest that it’s set around the same time as the show’s second season. Punisher actor Jon Bernthal has also said that the version of the character in Brand New Day could “walk off of the Spider-Man set and could walk on to the special set,” which implies that the two are both spiritually and chronologically connected. The story specifics of that relationship are being kept close for now, though the idea of Daredevil and One Last Kill leading into Brand New Day still holds. The Street-Level Crime Connection One phrase you often hear associated with Born Again, One Last Kill, and Brand New Day is “street-level.” While that phrase has often been associated with Daredevil and Punisher in their various shows, comics, and movies, the idea of Spider-Man dealing with more day-to-day threats rather than supervillainy and cosmic carnage is a bit of a departure for the MCU version of the character. That departure is the key component of the relationship between all of these releases. Tom Holland has previously expressed his preference for Spider-Man to get back to his street-level roots, and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was quick to hype up that element of Brand New Day before we knew pretty much anything else about the movie. Crucially, Feige also noted that characters like The Punisher are an integral part of helping Holland’s Spider-Man transition into dealing with more street-level threats. So while it’s not fair to call Born Again and One Last Kill simple set-ups for Brand New Day, they are very much trying to establish that one aspect of the film. Is Daredevil Going to Be in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? According to actor Charlie Cox, Daredevil will not be in Brand New Day. In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the actor said “No” when asked if he’s in the upcoming Spider-Man film and added “If I was in the movie, I would also say no, to be clear. But I’m not in the movie.” So clearly, Cox is being a bit cheeky about the situation. For what it’s worth, though, Cox previously gave an interview during New York Comic-Con 2025 in which he said that “I know that they all think I’m in Spider-Man because I’m filming something in London, which I’m not… I’m not in Spider-Man.” And although everyone is more than a little skeptical about this information (it wouldn’t be the first time Marvel tried to get away with such shenanigans), other reports suggest that Daredevil/Matt Murdoch has simply never been a big part of the Brand New Day story. So if Daredevil is in the movie, it will likely be a relatively minor role. Will Kingpin Be in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? According to Kingpin actor Vincent D’Onofrio, Kingpin is prohibited from appearing in any MCU movies and therefore will likely not appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. “I’m only usable for television shows… Not even a one-off Wilson Fisk movie,” said D’Onofrio in a 2025 interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast regarding the possibility of him appearing in Brand New Day. “It’s all caught up in rights and stuff. I don’t know when that would work out or if it ever would work out at all.” That’s a seemingly definitive statement on the matter, though it is a bit of an odd explanation. It sounds like the bizarre business relationship between Sony and Marvel regarding the use of Spider-Man and all associated characters is once again the culprit here. The nature of that arrangement remains complicated and largely mysterious, but precedent tells us that Sony would likely have the right to determine if a Spider-Man villain gets to appear in an MCU movie. It seems that rule doesn’t apply to Marvel television (or perhaps they got special permission in those instances). Theoretically, Marvel could reach a deal with Sony that allows Kingpin to make his MCU big-screen debut. However, it’s unlikely that such a potentially major deal would be made just to get the character in what is already shaping up to be a villain-bloated film. In any case, we’ll likely get something of a resolution to the Mayor Fisk storyline in Born Again season two simply so Kingpin won’t have to be a character in Brand New Day. Is The Punisher Going to Be in Spider-Man: Brand New Day or Daredevil: Born Again Season 2? While the first Brand New Day trailer confirmed that The Punisher will be in the movie, we were shocked to learn that the Punisher will not appear in Daredevil: Born Again season two. Actors Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio confirmed the Punisher’s absence while promoting the new season of the show. Both gave somewhat similar explanations that essentially boil down to Jon Bernthal being unavailable to appear in the show because he was busy filming Brand New Day and One Last Kill. Specifically, D’Onofrio recently stated “If John wasn’t busy making his own hour-long Punisher film and hangin with that insect we would have wanted him to join us in Season 2 for sure.” If that explanation strikes you as incomplete or unusual, then join the club. As is the case with Charlie Cox denying that he’s in Brand New Day, there is the possibility that Bernthal will appear as the Punisher in Born Again season two and that everyone involved is simply keeping that under wraps. However, given what else we know about the timeline of those projects relative to the rest of the MCU, it does make sense that Bernthal’s Born Again-adjacent adventures will be featured in One Last Kill rather than that show’s second season. As mentioned above, Bernthal has stated that the version of the Punisher we’ll see in Brand New Day and One Last Kill is a “high-octane” version of the character who fits into both projects seamlessly. While this is mere speculation, it is worth noting that Bernthal previously expressed frustration with the direction the Punisher was going in during Born Again’s tumultuous creative process. Though it seems some rewrites helped to address some of those concerns (as did the addition of The Punisher showrunner Dario Scardapane to the series), it does seem possible that everyone involved found it easier to give The Punisher additional room to move in a slightly different direction rather than to squeeze him into the Born Again season two plot. That said, it’s strange to think that The Punisher will not be involved with the show’s second season at all given how much of a role he played in the first season and seemingly had left to play moving forward. Ideally, One Last Kill will tie up some of those loose ends. The Current Release Dates For Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Punisher: One Last Kill, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day Daredevil: Born Again season two premieres on March 24 at 9pm ET/6pm PT on Disney+. Subsequent episodes will be released every Thursday leading up to the release of the show’s eighth episode (and season finale) on May 5. Punisher: One Last Kill will premiere almost one week later on May 12. Interestingly, Born Again’s second season was originally scheduled to end on that same date. It’s not clear why the scheduling swap was necessary, though their close release proximity certainly strengthens the idea that One Last Kill will fill in some of Born Again Season 2’s missing pieces or run parallel to that story in a way that suggests you may benefit from watching Born Again first. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, meanwhile, will be released in theaters on July 31. Given how absurdly popular it figures to be, don’t expect to see it hit streaming anytime soon. [end-mark] The post How <i>Daredevil: Born Again Season 2</i>, <i>Punisher: One Last Kill</i>, and <i>Spider-Man: Brand New Day</i> Are All (Supposedly) Connected appeared first on Reactor.