BTS The Punisher video reveals Jon Bernthal's secret role in 'brutal' dog scene

The Punisher: One Last Kill has mostly been a major success for Disney+, with the TV special presentation receiving overwhelmingly positive critical acclaim from critics and fans.

One particular scene in the TV special has been a site of controversy however, with some fans going as far as to turn it off just five minutes in.

The Punisher Netflix show featured some pretty brutal bone-snapping violence, but never went far enough that fans of the Jon Bernthal-played vigilante turned off the series.

In the Disney+ special however a scene involving a dog has garnered controversy, with some feeling it went too far.

The scene happens right at the start of the special and saw a group of criminals kick a homeless man in the head before picking up his adorable dog and throwing it in front of an oncoming truck.

One fan tweeted: “5 minutes into the Punisher one shot and had to turn it off, F*CK that.”

A second fan said: “hey so I don’t think that dog scene was necessary in the punisher my night is ruined.”

A behind the scenes video has shown how they filmed the scene with a quick switch around and I’m happy to report guys: they did not actually throw a dog in front of a truck.

The video, which has resurfaced on X of the scene from a different angle, shows that Jon Bernthal was involved in swapping out the real dog for a toy dog thrown in front of the truck.

One fan quoted the video on X, saying: “Jon passing the fake dog is f*cking killing me.”

Another fan said: “Really cool Bernthal is so involved in the shoot like this.”

BTS of the dog scene. #ThePunisherOneLastKill pic.twitter.com/ygn02sSDvw

— Daredevil Shots (@_DaredevilShots) May 13, 2026

Bernthal was not just the star of the special either, which likely explains his expanded role helping out on production.

The actor helped write the special, telling ComicBookMovie.com: “I got to try my hand at not just embodying Frank again, but also creating my own chapter in his journey.

“Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon [the creators of the Punisher] gave us a character with clarity of purpose and absolute commitment, someone who channels loss into action with brutal honesty.

“That ferocity and vulnerability is what makes Frank endure. It’s what I hope to bring to every version of him, whether I’m embodying him on screen or writing him on the page.”

The director of the special Reinaldo Martin Green has also defended the decision to have a dog killed in the opening scene, telling Brandon Davis, it was breaking a ‘cardinal rule’ and that he spoke to Jon Bernthal to confirm he was sure they should do it.

He added: “If it were not motivated by character there was no reason for that to be in this special at all, we question that until the very end with the test screenings and we felt that it was vital to the piece.

“We stand by the decision, this is from animal lovers ourselves but in terms of where Frank’s character ends up we found it important.”