Jon Bernthal will officially join the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Daredevil: Born Again.
As revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, Bernthal will once again portray Frank Castle/Punisher on the small screen. While there's been no official word from Marvel Studios on the details of the actor's return or how the anti-hero will factor into the plot, Bernthal will join several other Netflix/Marvel characters on the series. Charlie Cox will headline the new Daredevil series after appearing as Matt Murdoch in Spider-Man: No Way Home and in costume as the Man Without Fear on She-Hulk. Joining him will be Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, who crossed into the MCU on Hawkeye.
Bernthal has spent years dancing around whether or not he'd return to the iconic role after playing the Punisher on Daredevil and two seasons of his eponymous series. For fans, it was only a matter of time before Marvel brought Frank Castle into the MCU proper. And the return of Cox and D'Onofrio made Bernthal's reprisal seem likely. Of course, plenty of other actors from the Netflix era have yet to cross over.
A Brand-New Daredevil Series
According to the casting report, Elden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll are not expected to return as Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, respectively. Both played prominent roles on the original Daredevil, and Foggy has long been Matt Murdoch's best friend, law partner, and confidant in the comics. Woll, meanwhile, has a strong connection to Frank Castle, having appeared as Page across several episodes of The Punisher.
Despite no new concrete casting details about the other characters from the Defenders universe, rumors have swirled that Krysten Ritter and Mike Colter will return as Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, respectively. Early on, Ritter was expected to show up on Season 1 of She-Hulk, though that never came to pass. Fans have similarly expected Jessica Jones to appear on Born Again, and Bernthal's casting could mean that hope is one step closer to a reality.
Born Again will take place across 18 episodes for its first season, putting Cox in a new Daredevil costume and exploring elements from the comic book of the same name. It's unclear how much the story will follow the events of Netflix's Daredevil, but with D'Onofrio and Bernthal's involvement, it seems at least some plot points will carry over from the previous three seasons.
Daredevil: Born Again is to premiere on Disney+ in 2024.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter