In the last decade, Daredevil has become one of the most highly rated Marvel characters to appear on screen thanks to the incredible Netflix show that ran for multiple seasons, but another character that blew up in popularity thanks to the series was the Punisher.
First appearing in Season 2 of Netflix’s Daredevil, The Punisher would instantly become a favorite character among fans, largely thanks to his his violent personality and tragic backstory that would only be explored further in his own spin-off. Ultimately, those shows were canceled, but the silver lining is that they are now being moved over to Disney, where not only has Matt Murdock joined the MCU, but Frank Castle aka the Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal, will make his Marvel debut, too.
Bernthal’s iconic Marvel character made and appearance in recent previews for the upcoming series Daredevil: Born Again, which will be a soft reboot for the character set inside the MCU. However, Brad Winderbaum, the head of TV at Marvel Studios, has just confirmed that there are even bigger plans for the character, beyond Daredevil, going forward.
“100 percent, we feel the same way,” Winderbaum said to Brandon Davis in an interview on his YouTube channel. “He is so great in that role and I can’t wait for you to see him on screen in this series, and there’s absolutely a future for him in the MCU afterward.”
That’s great news for fans of the original Netflix shows, with a whole heap of newcomers also set to fall in love with the character when he appears in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again series. Keeping Bernthal attached to the role was also a great move by Disney since he is the perfect casting, and the team has clearly seen that since the very start.
In the same interview with Brandon Davis, Winderbaum revealed how he and Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige felt seeing Bernthal and the other original Netflix cast get revealed as their characters all those years ago.
“I love the original shows and that cast is unbelievable. I remember having conversations with Kevin [Feige] when the original series cast was cast and we were like ‘yeah if we were making a movie about Daredevil, that would be a great cast.’”
There’s a lot of excitement around Daredevil: Born Again, and for good reason. For once, Disney doesn’t have to think up a completely original premise for their show, they just have to give us more of the high-quality action and storytelling we got to know and love when Netflix was initially at the helm.
Who knows, if Frank Castle is back, then perhaps other members of the Netflix Defenders team will also make an appearance in the upcoming series. Personally, we’re hoping to see Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones back, but ultimately we’ll have to wait and see what Marvel Studios chooses to do. We’re praying they don’t mess this one up.
The good news is that we’re getting closer to the release of Daredevil: Born Again each day, and it will be one of the first Marvel series to air in 2025. You can catch the debut of this upcoming show via Disney Plus when it officially drops on March 4, 2025.