Jon Bernthal Set to Return as The Punisher for Disney+ Series 'Daredevil: Born Again'

by Darian Scalamoni

    He's back! That's right, according to an exclusive from The Hollywood Reporter, Jon Bernthal (The Wolf of Wall Street, King Richard) will return as Frank Castle aka The Punisher for Disney+ new series, Daredevil: Born Again. 

    As exciting as this news is, it unfortunately comes with a caveat. Many had hoped that other cast members Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Hensen who played Karen Page and Foggy Nelson respectively will not be reprising their roles for the Disney+ take that emanates from the Frank Miller comic book run. However, The Punisher is a character who is not present within that comics run, therefore Marvel Studios is taking creative liberty to deviate at least somewhat from the original source material. Bernthal joins the returning Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio as well as new cast members Michael Gandolfini, Margarita Levieva, Sandrine Holt and Nikki M. James for the upcoming 18-episode series. 

    Daredevil: Born Again will be the longest Disney+ Marvel-centric series to date with creatives Matt Corman and Chris Ord on as writers and executive producers. The show is currently filming and is expected as of now to premiere on the streamer for Spring 2024. The focal point of the show is still to see Daredevil face off against Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin yet again. Cox's character appeared recently in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law as a love interest and heroic pal of Tatiana Maslany's titular character, while D'Onofrio's Fisk returned for Hawkeye.

    Born Again will aim to try and integrate a beloved and popular character who suceeded within his own Netflix series with a new take. The original series aired for three seasons on Netflix from 2013-2018. Bernthal's take on Frank Castle debuted within Season 2 of the Netflix installment, leading to a spinoff series that had two seasons of its own. Netflix eventually canceled their Marvel shows before Disney+ launched in 2019.

    Bernthal is probably best known for his breakout role as Shane Walsh in The Walking Dead for AMC. Recently, Bernthal has been a busy man starring across multiple projects for film and television. He appeared as the Williams' sister's tennis coach in King Richard in 2021 before starring in HBO's We Own This City and Showtime's American Gigolo. He was recently cast in Ava DuVernay's Caste back in January and will also appear in action-comedy Snow Ponies with Evan Peters and Josh Gad.