Jon Bernthal Isn’t Just Starring in a Punisher Special, He’s Writing It

After Jon Bernthal’s Daredevil: Born Again appearance reprising his role as the MCU’s Punisher, Frank Castle, fans will be excited to find out there’s more in the works with the character. Thanks to Daredevil: Born Again getting re-worked by The Punisher’s executive producer and writer Dario Scardapane, Bernthal found fresh interest in returning to the character, particularly in regards to Marvel’s choices to go full ultra-violence with the heroes most known for it.

The head to head discussion between Frank and Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) on Born Again really brought that to light. As Bernthal shared with Entertainment Weekly, “They really brought me into the conversation. We really got specific about where Frank is psychologically, where Frank’s at physically.” And it shows when Castle really gets under Murdock’s skin.

Bernthal described how the arc for his Punisher is finally getting to where the character is supposed to be. “Let’s see if there’s a real openness and a hunger to let Frank be what Frank is, which is dark enough to have the courage and the boldness to turn your back on the audience and to make it difficult, to make it enormously psychologically complex and to steer away from any cuteness or humor and to really go full bore,” he said.

His one-scene appearance on Daredevil: Born Again “opened the door to getting closer to the Frank Castle that I really, really want to portray,” he said, especially in the wake of Frank finding out someone took the Punisher emblem and used it against his code for things he does not stand for.

“There’s a little bit of Frank in all of us; I genuinely believe that,” Bernthal remarked of that scene. “Like that line, ‘We’re all one bad day away from being me.’ I think that Frank is seeing himself in Matt, and Matt knows that he’s seeing Frank in himself, and there’s a glee in that. But also, Frank really has no time for the gray.”

The actor has grown to be a favorite steward of the militaristic anti-hero; as such, he’ll not only be starring in the Punisher’s upcoming Marvel Television special on Disney+, he’ll also be writing it. “I went through the process,” he said of the project which now has his frequent collaborator director Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard) attached. “I went in, I pitched, I gave an outline before I even put pen to page, and I felt like I did not want them to just hand it to me … and they’ve held me accountable to every step along the way. I really want to earn this and I really want this to be good. The story that we’ve laid out is, I think, really special. It’s the visceral, psychologically complex, unforgiving, no-holds-barred version of Frank where he’s going to turn his back to the audience. And nothing is easy and all violence has a cost, and we’re going to see that cost. I’m grateful that they’re letting me go to the places that I really want to go.”

As for the future of the character, Bernthal is focused first and foremost on the special. “What I really appreciate with these guys is that they have their vision,” he said of joining the ranks of creatives at Marvel he’s worked with and trusts. “They have an idea of where they want him to go and the world in which they want him to exist. But they’re really giving me agency on how we get him there and making sure that it’s honest and authentic and truthful.”

Daredevil: Born Again is now streaming on Disney+; you can also watch both seasons of Bernthal’s Punisher Netflix series on Disney+.

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