Jon Bernthal Would Return as The Punisher, But Not A Watered-Down Version

December 4, 2021

Jon Bernthal cemented himself as a fan-favorite actor following his role as Frank Castle on Netflix’s The Punisher. Bernthal says he would return to the role inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe but only if it kept the same level of darkness.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Bernthal described the level of emotion and attachment he has to The Punisher, stating that the character had a “real, real, real, deep, deep meaning” for him.

“He’s really in my heart, man. He’s really in my bones,” Bernthal said. “I’m enormously protective of that character. I’ve said before that there’s nothing in this world more important to me than my wife and my kids, and only until you understand that kind of love and what it really means to willingly die for somebody, [do you understand] what it would be like if somebody took them from you. That’s a road and a darkness and a rage that really, really scares me and brings me to places that I’ve worked the last 20 years to get away from. So I was really grateful, respectful, and weary of the places where that role took me and the world in which I had to live in.”

Bernthal said that if he were to return to play Castle, he feels like that level of darkness is where the character has to be.

“It needs to be a level of darkness,” stated Bernthal. “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. This character means so much to people in the military. So like I said before, it’s not about whether you do the character; it’s about whether you can do it right, and I’m only interested in doing it right.”

Netflix’s The Punisher series ran from November 2017 until February 2019, when the show was canceled after two seasons. Bernthal’s take on the character received rave reviews during the series’ run, with many associating it as the definitive live-action adaptation for the comic book character. As rumors continue to swirl around potential returns of Marvel Netflix characters, fans would likely love to see Bernthal somehow end up back inside the MCU.