With Jon Bernthal’s latest series being cancelled could all the stars have aligned for the Punisher’s MCU debut?

One of the toughest things that actors have to deal with when it comes to taking on projects is scheduling. In the case of Jon Bernthal though, it could seem that with the cancellation of his most recent series, American Gigalo he could now make himself available for a fan-favorite role. As the saying goes, as one door closes another one opens.

Bernthal is probably best known for his turn playing Frank Castle AKA The Punisher in the Netflix/Marvel series. Fans adored him as the character who appeared in both Daredevil and his own series. The cry for his character to be brought into the MCU now that Daredevil is returning has been a loud one, and now, with Bernthal’s calendar having possibly opened up only weeks before production starts, it feels like a sign.

Daredevil: Born Again will see the return of Charlie Cox to the role of Matt Murdock, AKA Daredevil, and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, AKA Kingpin. Ever since the announcement, many have wondered whether or not other main characters from the Netflix series will be crossing over to join them at Disney, including Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page and Elden Henson’s Franklin “Foggy” Nelson. As it stands, it would appear that Woll’s schedule may keep her from returning as she has just landed a role in Twin Flames for Miramax.

Many of these actors have been vocal about wanting to return to their roles, including Bernthal who spoke on the podcast Geek House Show during the height of the pandemic about how happy he would be to return to the role. The actor started off by saying “there’s always hope” before addressing how thankful he is for his fans,

“It’s unbelievably humbling how much people sort of responded to this version of Frank, and I can’t tell you how much it means to me because he means so much to me. He’s in my blood, he’s in my bones… So it’s not about whether we do it, it’s about getting it right, and doing the version that the fans really deserve. We’ll see. I mean, all of those decisions are made in rooms that I am not invited into… But Frank’s always there, he’s always a part of me. And when we get the call to go, I’ll be ready, and I’ll make sure that I do everything I can to make sure that we do it right, or we won’t do it at all.”

Of course, fans will want a version of Frank that stays true to what we have seen from the character so far, though many worry that now the series is moving over to Disney, the violence and grit that made it so popular may be stripped away in order to make it more family-friendly.

We do hope that Bernthal’s schedule opening up is a good omen for Marvel fans and fans of the Punisher character, but we will have to wait and see if Marvel execs will jump on this chance or let it be.