When we talked to series star Charlie Cox about the second season of the Marvel/Netflix Daredevil show, he expressed his wishes for what he wanted to see. “I’d like to see Punisher maybe show up, a little bit of Elektra maybe. I wouldn’t mind Black Widow making an appearance, and you can’t think about Daredevil for too long without thinking of Bullseye.” Well, one out of four isn’t bad so far, as Jon Bernthal is showing up as Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher.
Bernthal, still best known for The Walking Dead, will play the Marvel favourite, a tough vigilante who has his own ideas about cleaning up crime, no matter how lethal his methods. When he arrives in Hell’s Kitchen, you can bet he’ll butt heads with Matt Murdock.
“Jon Bernthal brings an unmatched intensity to every role he takes on, with a potent blend of power, motivation and vulnerability that will connect with audiences,” Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s head of television says on Marvel’s site as part of the announcement. “Castle’s appearance will bring dramatic changes to the world of Matt Murdock and nothing will be the same.” He’s not wrong about the casting – Bernthal seems like a great choice for the character, inheriting a screen mantle that has been shouldered by Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson in the past.
On the big screen, Bernthal has long proved his versatility, cropping up in movies as diverse as The Wolf Of Wall Street, Grudge Match, Rampart and World Trade Center. He has several films on the way, with We Are Your Friends landing August 28, Me And Earl And The Dying Girl due September 11 and Sicario out September 25. He’ll also be seen in The Accountant, Pilgrimage and Shot Caller. For more on Daredevil, check out our Spoiler Special Podcast.