Jon Bernthal Turned Down ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ for Not Getting Frank Castle Right

Seeing the Punisher insignia in the Marvel universe is cause for terror. If you are staring down that frightening white skull, you’ve likely run afoul of ole Frank Castle, a man who will murder without hesitation (while most Marvel heroes will not). However, seeing Castle’s famous logo in the real world can be just as frightening. A collection of neckbearded losers with anger issues have adopted The Punisher symbol to show their totally normal view that The Punisher is correct in his proclivity for murder. The scariest part is that cops (and insane military members) have adopted this insignia as well, and Daredevil: Born Again is tackling that.

There will be slight spoilers for Born Again following, but if you aren’t already reading Tori’s recaps what are you even doing?

I’m no fan of the NYPD, and Daredevil: Born Again is really playing to those sensibilities! Cops on the show are shallow, quick-tempered New York stereotypes. They have no issues resorting to violence to cover their asses, even if it means beating up a blind lawyer (he quickly turns the tables on them but still, they didn’t know he would/could). In addition to being violent thugs, many NYPD members in Daredevil’s newest adventure sport Punisher tattoos on their necks. They also (presumably) have bullet casings featuring the symbol as well. That leads Matt Murdock to pay Frank Castle a visit.

As Tori pointed out, the scene between the two crimefighters was the most important scene in the latest episode. They touch on the bullet casing briefly, but that story and the emotionally charged scene appear to have attracted Jon Bernthal to the project. He was cast as Punisher for the Netflix wing of the MCU and did an incredible job. His connection to the character is undeniable, especially given that he will write and star in a Punisher special for Disney+. So, it’s wild to hear that he almost didn’t return at all.

“Ultimately, I didn’t see it,” Bernthal told Entertainment Weekly about why he originally turned down the new show. “I didn’t see the version of Frank, and what they wanted from Frank [didn’t] really make sense to me and I thought would not appeal to the fans and wouldn’t be congruent. It was not something I was really interested in doing. So we had to walk away.” Bernthal wasn’t the only person displeased with the new show, as objections from stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio led to massive changes. The folks behind changed course, and that attracted Bernthal back.

“I feel like it’s opened the door to getting closer to the Frank Castle that I really, really want to portray,” the actor noted. Keeping Bernthal happy makes sense, as his take on the character is pretty fantastic. But they took that a step further. “They really brought me into the conversation,” Bernthal explained. “We really got specific about where Frank is psychologically, where Frank’s at physically.”

Extreme Punisher fans have kept me from enjoying the character for a while. But, seeing him butt heads with some of those fans is something I will watch happily. Having that Punisher be played by an actor who wants to take the emotional aspects of the character so seriously makes it even more exciting. After that, maybe have him join the Guardians of the Galaxy. This is the MCU, after all.