From the moment Daredevil: Born Again season 1 came to a close, fans have been speculating about what will and won’t happen in the show’s second season. At the heart of many of these conversations has been speculation about who will and will not be a part of the show’s season 2 cast.
The rumor mill has been running rampant with speculation over what the new season will hold and which familiar faces could be a part of Daredevil: Born Again season 2. Some of these casting rumors have, of course, proved to be true, such as the long-rumored return of Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones. Others remain on the bubble, with fans anxiously waiting to see if they come to fruition in season 2 or if they end up being nothing more than wishful thinking that gained so much momentum that fans tried to will it into existence.
Among the characters fans have been hoping to see back for season 2 is Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle aka The Punisher, who played a key role in the first season of the show. It was assumed that Bernthal would be back for season 2, but his role was cast into question in late 2025 when executive producer Sana Amanat told Empire that Bernthal would not be back for season 2.
Of course, this shocked fans who expected to see Punisher back in action teaming up with Daredevil to try to reclaim the city from Mayor Fisk. It seems almost impossible to imagine Punisher not being involved in Daredevil: Born Again season 2, which is why some have speculated that perhaps this was just Amanat’s way of throwing fans off track so when Punisher returned it would be a big surprise.
This is something Marvel would do, as the studio has been known to deny an actor’s involvement only for them to appear. However, it seems Bernthal’s exit from the show was not a false report.
Vincent D'Onofrio makes it crystal clear that Jon Bernthal is not in Daredevil: Born Again season 2
Ahead of the Daredevil: Born Again season 2 premiere, Vincent D'Onofrio, who plays Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin, on the show, has made it clear that Bernthal is, in fact, not coming back for season 2.
After catching wind of a remark from Charlie Cox about Bernthal galavanting with Spider-Man instead of helping Daredevil take down Fisk, one annoyed fan tweeted about his annoyance about the remarks.
“Are you f–king serious? After all that trouble to write him into the story, they're f–king writing him OUT? There's quite literally no reason he would leave in this current conflict??? You're telling me Frank Castle, number 1 corruption hater, LEFT when Fisk was in power??”
This frustrated tweet caught the attention of D’Onofrio, who jumped in to confirm that this was indeed the reality and that fans should not expect Bernthal back for season 2. In doing so, D’Onofrio helped to provide additional context as to why Bernthal will not be returning as the Punisher for the second season.
“If Jon 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,” D’Onofrio remarked.
The comment makes it clear that Bernthal simply didn’t exit Daredevil: Born Again without cause, noting that he was simply unable to appear in the season due to his involvement in two major Marvel Studios projects.
The first is the upcoming Punisher special, which will see Bernthal taking center stage in an hour-long special presentation releasing after Daredevil: Born Again. This special will help fill in the gaps between what Frank has been up to since the Daredevil: Born Again season 1 finale and set up for his appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The Spider-Man movie is, of course, the second of the two MCU projects that Bernthal filmed, which prevented him from appearing in season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again. Rumors are swirling that the special will play a key role in setting up the next Spider-Man film, and it's expected that Bernthal will play a notable role in the upcoming film.
It’s certainly an exciting time to be a Punisher fan. While it might be disappointing not to see Bernthal back in Daredevil: Born Again season 2, his absence is only because Marvel has big plans for his character. And just because we don’t see Bernthal in season 2 doesn’t mean he won’t be back for season 3, which has already been ordered by Disney+!