Since the cancellation of Netflix’s The Punisher in 2019, everyone has been wondering (and hoping) that actor Jon Bernthal will be brought back into the Marvel fray. But, should the studio have alternative plans for the likes of Frank Castle, would Bernthal consider playing a different character entirely, perhaps even the long fan-casted Wolverine? While he does not rule it out, Bernthal makes it pretty clear that, while he would consider looking at scripts for other Marvel projects, he has his heart set on once again donning the skull-emblazoned vest of The Punisher.
“Look, the criteria in which I sort of decide what I’m doing next is: Does the script move me?, Who am I working with?, Who is the filmmaker, and is that somebody I’m dying to work with? I’m going to hold onto that moving forward no matter what that is. I get it, I get that the Marvel questions, you’re asking these questions because it’s super important to a lot of people; people love these characters and I get that and I come to that with absolute respect. What I will tell you again is that Frank Castle is in my bones. Frank Castle is in my bones.”
Introduced as the beloved Marvel vigilante in the first season of Netflix’s Daredevil, Jon Bernthal proved himself to be such pitch perfect casting as Frank Castle that it’s no wonder the actor wants so desperately to return to the role in future. While he would arguably make an excellent Logan should Marvel decide to go in that direction, ultimately, Bernthal simply feels he can empathise a lot more with the bereaved Frank Castle as opposed to the tortured mutant.
“Beyond anything, I’m a father and I’m a husband and the kernel of Frank is what would happen if someone took them away from me; something that I understand, something that I empathize with. And I have a deep, deep reverence for the military community and I have deep respect for the people that this character means so much to. Beyond that, whatever comes my way I’m going to judge it as it comes and I’d be grateful if anything came my way.”
Currently, we have no idea what Marvel plans to do with the likes of The Punisher, Daredevil, and Jessica Jones, but rumors have recently circulated which claim that the studio hopes to bring back to the cast while putting the characters through what has been described as a “soft reboot”.
Bernthal meanwhile seems to be just as in the dark as the fans regarding Punisher’s return saying, “You know, we’ll see,” when asked whether he’ll be back. “I mean, honestly, I don’t think about it very much. I’m really happy — look, we’re all enormously blessed to be doing this. I can say for the other guys that you’re talking to as well, we really love this. We really love doing this. We work hard at it, we support our families by it, through it, but we never lose touch just how grateful we are to be in the position that we are that we get to do this for a living. I like to do this. I like to work with people I really respect and love and admire and make stuff with. This kind of project is precisely, it’s exactly the kind of stuff I want to be doing. So, whatever else comes, you know, kind of down the road, comes. But, this is something that’s really worth celebrating.” This comes to us courtesy of Forbes.