A recent exclusive from Variety all but confirms that a Daredevil reboot, written by Matt Corman and Chris Ord, is in development for Disney+. Though nothing is officially confirmed as of yet, seeing that Marvel Studios does not offer comment on projects still in development, Daredevil/Matt Murdock’s (Charlie Cox) return in Spider-Man: No Way Home is a sure sign that the studio isn’t done with the Man Without Fear. How Murdock will figure into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has yet to be revealed, but his comeback opens the door to the other characters from the Netflix series coming back, too -- the Punisher/Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) included. A Punisher comeback is long overdue, and the reboot of Daredevil might make that possible since the series’ cancellation in 2019.
Around the time when No Way Home premiered, Bernthal gave an interview with The Hollywood Reporter where he commented on if he’d ever return to playing the Punisher in the MCU now that the multiverse allowed his and the rest of the Netflix cast’s return to the franchise. While he said he loves Castle and is “enormously protective” of the character, he wouldn’t just return because they asked him to. His final word on the matter was that “it’s not about whether you do the character; it’s about whether you can do it right, and I’m only interested in doing it right.” Seeing that the MCU’s shows are such a hit with critics, perhaps Bernthal might be tempted to return to the character with the right creative team further down the road.
The Punisher’s Story in the Netflix Shows
Frank Castle made his debut in Daredevil Season 2 when Murdock and Foggy Nelson took on his homicide case. But that wasn’t the first time Murdock and Castle had met in the show. When he was moonlighting as Daredevil, Murdock tracked his fellow vigilante and was even kidnapped by him when the Punisher sabotaged the DA’s operation to trap an incredibly powerful drug lord. Castle’s vendetta against gangs and criminal operations is personal: his wife and children were murdered in the crossfire of a gang fight, and he got a bullet to the head that made him legally dead for a brief time.
Castle became a fan favorite even before his spin-off, The Punisher was announced, no doubt in part to Jon Bernthal’s effortless performance as the emotionally tortured and yet incredibly protective, no-nonsense vigilante. He always jumps to protect the vulnerable, especially young kids and families, from violent threats -- gangs or otherwise. That much is apparent in his very first scene, in which Castle kills a pawnshop owner for offering to sell him child pornography, and later at his trial when the women of the jury praise Castle for taking down the gangsters and criminals plaguing their community. That same dedication to eliminating criminals and getting vengeance for his family and the innocents both was further explored in The Punisher.
The events of The Punisher follow Frank discovering the connection between the illegal Operation Cerberus, a special military group from his time in the Marines, and the DA-orchestrated cover-up of the so-called “Massacre at Central Park,” where he and his family were targeted in Season 1. Season 2 saw Castle picking up the Punisher role again to protect Amy Bendix, a young girl who managed to escape the assassins who killed her family before going on the run again. Though he grappled with whether to dedicate his life to being the Punisher throughout Season 2, Castle’s story ends with him continuing to protect the innocent and vulnerable as the vigilante.
Where the Punisher Can Go in the MCU
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Since Castle was still the Punisher at the end of Season 2, a rebooted series could show what he’s been up to since his stint protecting Amy. Perhaps he and Karen Page, former Nelson and Murdock employee and writer for the New York Bulletin, struck up a romance and are living together, taking down the corrupt shot-callers and criminals of Hell’s Kitchen with bullets and words, respectively. If the Daredevil reboot follows other Disney+ standards, it will most likely have six episodes, so there may not be space for Castle to do much other than a cameo -- something Bernthal seems avoidant of. The Punisher would have to fully return in his own show or in the story of another established character to give Castle space for his own arc.
Though still rather tame by the standards of the Netflix shows, Moon Knight showed the MCU’s willingness to lean into the dark and violent for its vigilante characters. Castle and Moon Knight/Marc Spector have a long history of teaming up in the comics because of their shared dedication to protecting the innocent: Castle because of how his family was taken from him, and Spector because of his oath as the Fist of Khonshu. Making Spector and Castle former Marine buddies that knew each other from Operation Cerberus would be a seamless integration of their two characters, or Castle could meet Spector’s alter Jake Lockley on a job. A Midnight Sons limited series could be the site of their reunion, if not Moon Knight Season 2.
In terms of comic stories that could be adapted, the limited-run Doctor Strange/The Punisher: Magic Bullets is ripe for the taking. The Disney+ shows’ six-episode format may not work as well for introducing new characters, but Strange and Castle are already well-established due to their respective film and series appearances. The one-off nature of Magic Bullets is perfect for a limited series adaptation, and it pairs up the two most unlikely heroes for a mission that blends the local threat of organized crime with inter-dimensional meddling.
With the return of Matt Murdock in Daredevil, Frank Castle might finally get his shot at a comeback. There’s plenty of space for his own show if Daredevil does well, and he can more than easily show up in the supporting cast of another story. Bernthal’s word that he would return to Castle if the story was one worth telling suggests that if a Punisher reboot ever happens, it’s bound to be a hit with fans and critics alike.