Evidence Mounts That Jon Bernthal’s Punisher Will Crop Up In The Defenders

Evidence continues to mount that Frank Castle (AKA The Punisher) will be making an appearance elsewhere in Marvel’s small-screen universe before Jon Bernthal’s mercenary toplines his own solo series.

Ahead of New York Comic-Con kicking off, the event’s official Twitter account shot out a message earlier today confirming that Bernthal would be in attendance at next weekend’s showcase; however, that visit will be cut short “due to his Netflix production schedule.”

Per Twitter:

Due to his Netflix production schedule, @jonnybernthal will only be at #NYCC on Saturday and Sunday. More info: https://t.co/uMrzkxxJWM pic.twitter.com/Ro6nMfqvry

— New York Comic Con (@NY_Comic_Con) September 21, 2016

Is this a sign that The Punisher is primed to leap before the cameras earlier than planned? After all, Ben Barnes recently climbed aboard the spinoff, with reports claiming that the Bernthal-fronted series will actually premiere in late 2017 as part of Netflix’s renewed drive to manufacture its original content at a faster rate. Don’t get too excited for Frank Castle’s solo outing just yet, though; Jon Bernthal is likely being drawn back to Marvel and Netflix to film some form of cameo role, which would align with claims that the actor holds a minor part in The Defenders.

Unconfirmed, of course, but it’s certainly food for thought. Both Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock) and Bernthal struck up a brilliant rapport during the sophomore season of Daredevil, and it would be fantastic to see that relationship develop, all the while tossing Iron Fist, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage into the mix.

On the topic, it is the latter superhuman that will be muscling his way onto Netflix (September 30, mark the diaries). The Punisher, meanwhile, is without a release window for the time being, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on this one as it develops.