The premiere of Daredevil: Born Again has been well-received by fans and (mostly) critics, and that’s even before seeing the return of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher, who will be a key part of this season.
Frank Castle will indeed return from his Netflix days to Born Again, and has been a significant part of the promotion for the series, his appearance far from a surprise. In the pilot, we already got a hint about his return with corrupt cops adopting his skull symbol in a way that he will no doubt not appreciate. This relates to a real-world practice that Jon Bernthal has already spoken out against:
“These people are misguided, lost, and afraid. They have nothing to do with what Frank stands for or is about,” he said. Frank, of course, is about murdering criminals, not shaking down people for cash or executing witnesses like these cops.
As for the future of The Punisher, after Daredevil, we already know where this is going. Bernthal is writing his own “special” for The Punisher, which will not air in theaters, but will be a sort of mini-movie event for Disney Plus. Bernthal has been talking about Frank and his future during his promotion of The Accountant 2, where he co-stars with Ben Affleck:
“I care very deeply about Frank, I’m really grateful that I’m getting the opportunity to tell the story that I think the fans deserve. We’re giving it our all and we’re trying to tell a Frank Castle story that we’re not going to turn our back on the audience — it’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be light, and I think it’s the version that this character deserves and I’m just beyond honored and grateful that we get the opportunity.”
And on how it compares to the Netflix series:
“It’s going to be dark; Frank has no interest in breaking out the darkness. It’s not going to be easy. I don’t know if that’s the Netflix tone then that’s what it’s going to be…It will not be Punisher-lite, I promise you that.”
Some fans were skeptical when it was promised that Daredevil: Born Again would also be “dark” and violent when the character returned, given that had been promised in the past with series like Moon Knight and Echo which did not really deliver. But so far, Daredevil seems to be living up to its word, and I think Disney is less afraid of R/MA-rated MCU content these days, perhaps in part by Deadpool and Wolverine making over a billion dollars.
Frank’s return is a signal that other Netflix heroes may come back to the universe. It’s sort of an open secret that Jessica Jones will be here at some point, though whether that’s just a cameo or a reprisal of her own series, remains unclear. No word on Luke Cage or Iron Fist, but some fans are hoping for a Heroes for Hire series with the two of them.
I am a little surprised Bernthal isn’t doing his own full-on show, but he will be in a significant chunk of Born Again in addition to this special, and he’s frankly just very, very busy now, as his star has elevated in recent years between projects like The Bear, We Own This City, Ford V Ferrari and others. He’s even been cast in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Big moves for Frank Castle, and we’re just lucky we’ve got him back at all.
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