It was a real shame that all of the Marvel shows housed on Netflix were abruptly canceled in the wake of Disney’s takeover of Fox, because the streaming service had become the first outfit that managed to get the Punisher right. Frank Castle had always been a character that struggled to get a decent adaptation, having already appeared in a forgotten Dolph Lundgren vehicle in 1989, the Thomas Jane-starring 2004 version and then the hilariously over-the-top Punisher: War Zone four years later.
However, the casting of Jon Bernthal proved to be a masterstroke, with the actor bringing his trademark intensity to the character in the second season of Daredevil, and proving so popular that he was given his own show the following year, which would go on to run for two seasons. The 43 year-old is without a doubt the best onscreen iteration of the Punisher we’ve seen, and it sounds as though he also has a real affinity for playing Frank Castle, and would love the chance to reprise the role at some point down the road.
When discussing what the future holds, Bernthal admitted that while he would always choose the projects that suited him the best, he isn’t quite ready to give up on the Punisher just yet.
“I just don’t know what’s out there, and that’s part of the thing that I love about it… If something comes to me, and it’s written well, and it’s with people I really want to roll with, I’m gonna roll. And if it’s not, I’m not gonna do it… I love Frank, too. I really don’t have any desire to move off him.”
Earlier today, we reported that Marvel indeed wants Bernthal to play the Punisher again in an upcoming MCU project, which will be interesting to see given the definitively R-rated nature of the character. Things can always change in the future though, with Kevin Feige now overseeing almost every aspect of Marvel’s output and having said he’s open to doing more mature films. And while nothing official has been announced as of yet, it certainly sounds like we haven’t seen the last of Frank Castle.
