Few would argue that Jon Bernthal’s raw, intense turn as Frank Castle (AKA The Punisher) in Daredevil season 2 was anything short of mesmerizing.
Putting Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock through his paces – both physically and morally – Bernthal’s performance was enough to spark rumors surrounding a potential spinoff series based on his unhinged vigilante. And while Marvel recently cooled talks of an offshoot based on The Punisher, the actor weighed in on the future of Frank Castle beyond Daredevil‘s second season.
When quizzed about the notion of spinoff series by Complex, Bernthal cautioned that the proposed script and direction needs to be pitch-perfect – “raw and intense,” essentially – before anything would come to pass.
For me, it’s not a question of what they want to do with a character, it’s more, how are they going to do it, and who’s going to be the ones to do it. This character is in my bones now, he’s in my blood. If they want to go forward in any way, for me it’s just really going to be about making sure we do it in a way that’s raw and intense. I want to push the envelope. I wanna alienate more of the audience and try to bring them back.
In related news, the actor also touched base on the casting of Tom Holland as Marvel’s new Spider-Man. Having worked alongside the young up-and-comer on Brendan Muldowney’s upcoming thriller Pilgrimage, Bernthal was full of praise for the Spidey to be.
I worked with Tom intensely in Ireland on the movie that we did; a group of us were all living in a remote part of Western Ireland, eating every meal together, on set all day with each other. And I got to tell you, in all my years in Hollywood, I’m probably more impressed with Tom Holland than anyone else I’ve ever met. For a guy his age, he’s a force of nature. I saw him go through the process of trying to win that role. He fought for it. He just went out and got it. That’s not an easy feat.
Jon Bernthal can be seen prowling the streets of Hell’s Kitchen in Daredevil season 2. Captain America: Civil War, on the other hand, will introduce Tom Holland’s Spider-Man come May 6.
