Jon Bernthal reprising The Punisher role in Daredevil: Born Again

Jon Bernthal is set to reprise his role as The Punisher on Disney Plus series Daredevil: Born Again, officially marking his debut in the MCU.

Frank Castle is back! The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Jon Bernthal will be reprising one of his most iconic roles in the upcoming Disney Plus series Daredevil: Born Again. Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio have been long confirmed and, as the show commences filming, now we can add one more name to that list. The series will begin shooting in New York City with a scheduled 18 episode release due sometime in 2024.

Bernthal first took on the mantle of the anti-hero when he appeared in the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil. He then was given his own spinoff show, starring in The Punisher, which ran on the streaming service for two seasons between 2017-2019. After that, Netflix cancelled all of its Marvel Universe shows, paving the way for the rights to return to Marvel Studios and allowing those characters to be used in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Of course, Bernthal is no stranger to the comic book realm outside of the Marvel shows, having starred in The Walking Dead  for AMC as Shane Walsh.

The Punisher is the most recent Netflix Marvel character in the MCU

Since the return of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil in projects that are considered part of the MCU (such as Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law), fans have been clamoring to have Frank Castle return as well. Until now it had been radio silence on which Netflix characters would be also making the jump to the MCU (apart from D’Onofrio’s Kingpin who debuted in Hawkeye).

Unfortunately, as of now Deborah Ann Woll, who played Karen Page on the Netflix series, and Elden Hanson, who portrayed Foggy Nelson, will not be reprising their roles. There hasn’t been word on whether they will recast or cut out entirely.

Daredevil: Born Again takes its name from the 1986 Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli. The Punisher character was not in this storyline but, early reports are they may not be following the comic run and instead simply using the name. Bernthal hasn’t been too vocal about reprising his role but did have this to say to The Hollywood Reporter in 2021:

"“I think if there’s any let up on that character, you do a disservice to the character, to every iteration of the character, to every comic book that’s come before, and to all of the unbelievable fans of the character.”"

Bringing him back in the role certainly isn’t a disservice, and fans of the Netflix show will undoubtedly be thrilled that Bernthal is back.

Are you excited to see Jon Bernthal return to the role of Frank Castle in Daredevil: Born Again? Do you hope other Netflix Marvel characters make the jump to the MCU, too? Who else do you hope joins the show? Let us know in the comments below!