In a turn of events that will make fans happy, Jon Bernthal's Punisher is coming back to make his official Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again series on Disney Plus. With Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio on board, the anti-hero's addition will surely elevate the project to new levels of hype and excitement. We take a look below at several details MCU fans must know about this huge return.
4 details MCU fans must know about Jon Bernthal's return as The Punisher in Daredevil: Born Again
4. Bernthal's Punisher comes back to make official MCU debut
After a few years, Jon Bernthal is finally coming back as Frank Castle in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again series for Marvel, as confirmed recently by The Hollywood Reporter. Bernthal, known for his roles in The Walking Dead, Baby Driver, and The Wolf of Wall Street, will join two other actors that have played important parts in the Netflix series – Charlie Cox as Daredevil and Vincent D'Onofrio as Kingpin. Both of these actors have appeared in previous MCU projects, such as Hawkeye and She-Hulk.
At this point in time, there have been no concrete details on how the Punisher will be introduced to the MCU or what kind of character fans will be seeing when Born Again comes out. It's also not sure how a violent ant-hero such as Frank Castle will be used in this new continuity of the character.
3. Daredevil: Born Again
With Bernthal's return as the Punisher, his character will now join Cox and D'Onofrio in reprising their roles for Daredevil: Born Again. The said MCU series will premiere on Disney Plus in the spring of 2024. As compared to other Marvel projects on the streaming service which has six to nine installments, this reboot will boast an 18-episode run with Matt Corman and Chris Ord behind the wheel as writers and executive producers.
The title itself, Born Again, is taken from a Marvel comic storyline written by Frank Miller and illustrated by David Mazzuchelli. In it, Matt Murdock's identity as Daredevil has been discovered by Kingpin, leading him to destroy the lawyer's life from within. It's still not yet known how much of the source material will be used in the upcoming Disney Plus series, and how Benrthal's Punisher will figure in it.
2. The Punisher's Netflix history
After a successful first season, Daredevil came back on Netflix to expand its story by including several characters and elements from the comics. Along with Elektra, the inclusion of Frank Castle played well with the titular hero, adding a complex layer to Daredevil and his fight to protect Hell's Kitchen from itself.
With his introduction to Netflix's stable of Marvel heroes a success, the Punisher was given a chance to headline his own series in 2017. Bernthal would come back for season 2 in 2019 until the streaming service pulled the plug on every Marvel-related project they had, a sign that their involvement with these characters has come to an end. Nevertheless, both seasons of The Punisher and the character's appearances in Daredevil season 2 was well-accepted by fans, thanks to its faithfulness to the source material and Bernthal's impressive portrayal of the anti-hero.
1. Connecting to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe
Thanks to the Punisher returning in Daredevil: Born Again, it's safe to expect that the fan-favorite vigilante has a very strong chance to go up against the MCU's biggest villains or work alongside its heroes to stop them. With Marvel's Phase 4 setting up the foundation of the Multiverse Saga, Kang's introduction in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to start Phase 5, and the eventual culmination in Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, there's a lot in store for Frank Castle in the future.
But for now, his appearance in Born Again will remind everyone why the Punisher is a pretty compelling character to root for. With the confirmation that Bernthal is coming back, things are looking good not just for the Punisher, but for the street-level projects of the MCU, such as Daredevil and Echo. In any case, fans will surely look forward to the upcoming debut of this vigilante in the Marvel Universe.
Follow Us
Subscribe