Could fans have gotten Daredevil: Born Again without The Punisher? Jon Bernthal reveals why he initially refused to return as his iconic character in the Marvel series.
Jon Bernthal has officially made his return as The Punisher in Daredevil: Born Again. The most recent episode of the long-hyped Disney Plus series has finally started to trickle some of Matt Murdock’s old acquaintances back into the fold. And even though his return was brief, fans have been over the moon seeing Marvel’s greatest anti-hero back again. However, it seems as though his return may have not always been a sure thing.
While speaking about his role in Daredevil: Born Again, Jon Bernthal revealed that he was originally approached to return as The Punisher when the show was first being planned. However, he ultimately turned down the offer. According to the actor, this was because the original vision of the series didn’t serve the vision of Frank Castle he saw in his mind, causing him to walk away from the (likely very lucrative) deal.
“Ultimately, I didn’t see it. I didn’t see the version of Frank,” Bernthal explained in a recent chat with Entertainment Weekly. “And what they wanted from Frank [didn’t] really make sense to me and I thought would not appeal to the fans and wouldn’t be congruent. It was not something I was really interested in doing. So we had to walk away.”
Why Did Jon Bernthal Return As The Punisher?
Now that fans have seen Jon Bernthal make his grand return as The Punisher, it’s hard to imagine the actor giving anything less than a pitch-perfect adaptation of the character. That might be why he ultimately turned down a role in Daredevil: Born Again in the first place. And it seems the only thing that brought him back was that the new showrunner, who was also a former writer on The Punisher, really took the time to understand the character.
“They really brought me into the conversation,” Bernthal continued. “We really got specific about where Frank is psychologically, where Frank’s at physically…Sometimes you have to be very, very clear with your intentions in this business.”
“You can’t get confused with how much you love something, how much you love playing something, how much you want to do something. You got to make sure you’re serving it. You got to make sure you’re doing justice to the people that believe in it and doing justice to the iterations that have come before you.”
Even if it wouldn’t have been the end of the world if Jon Bernthal was absent from Daredevil: Born Again, his inclusion is yet another testament to the care that went into retooling the series for old and new fans alike. And with the actor confirmed to return once more as The Punisher for his own special on Disney Plus, it seems as though Bernthal’s time as Frank Castle is far from over.
Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
