A lot of people have been asked whether they would like to play a Marvel character over the years. Some have ideas while others just want to be a part of the classic franchise, but for WWE superstar CM Punk, there is only one character he wants to play.
When responding to fans' questions in a recent video on the GQ YouTube channel, the veteran wrestler was asked which superhero he would be if he would choose, and after some amusing light-hearted remarks in response, he then replied by humorously saying the following:
“Frank Castle wants to be CM Punk. No, not really. I want to be Frank Castle, The Punisher.”
You can watch the video below:
Punk has been wrestling professionally since 1997, making him one of the most recognisable faces in the wrestling industry. He also had a successful stint in the world of mixed martial arts, so this is certainly not a guy you would want to mess with. The Punisher first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 all the way back in 1974, before becoming one of Marvel’s most recognisable and iconic anti-heroes and headlining countless comics as well as making numerous multimedia appearances. Punk certainly has the physique and tough guy persona to make a convincing Frank Castle, but the chances of the famous wrestler achieving his dream by playing the role do not seem particularly likely at the time being as there is already a Punisher on our screens.
The Punisher is played by Jon Bernthal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although he first debuted in the Netflix Marvel series (appearing in Daredevil season 2 before going on to star in two seasons of The Punisher), he made his official MCU debut earlier this year in Daredevil: Born Again. He's also set to reprise the role in next year’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day and a Punisher-focused special on Disney Plus. Therefore, it seems like CM Punk will have to wait for Bernthal to retire from the role before taking it on himself, and it seems like he won't be hanging up his skull shirt and calling it quits just yet. That being said, the MCU is currently in the midst of its Multiverse Saga, so we wouldn't rule out a potential cameo from Punk as an alternate version of Frank Castle from another universe in the MCU's multiverse.
However, Punk still has plenty of other acting roles in the pipeline, including an appearance in the upcoming horror film Night Patrol and a recurring role in SyFy's supernatural TV series, Revival. Punk has also written a number of comics for Marvel, including Thor Annual No. 1, Drax, and Master of Kung Fu, in addition to penning the introduction for the collected trade paperback edition of Avengers vs. X-Men, one of Marvel's major event series. And the wrestler’s catchphrase, “It's clobberin' time”, was famously first uttered by the Thing from the Fantastic Four.
With Punk being such a Marvel enthusiast, fans can only hope that the wrestler will one day get to appear onscreen as a Marvel character, even though he may not necessarily play the Punisher. Since there are countless other characters in Marvel’s vast library, there is bound to be one that Punk could play before Jon Bernthal eventually departs the role of Frank Castle.