Credit: Marvel StudiosMarvel Studios is finally making the right decisions as Jon Berthnal’s Frank Castle/Punisher will join the MCU in the best way possible.
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Netflix’s Marvel series brought a lot of gritty action for fans to see. While the Avengers were fighting villains using magic and alien technology, heroes like Punisher and Charlie Cox’s Daredevil used their bare hands to take the bad guys. Sure, the Punisher definitely used his fair share of weapons, but the fights were bloody and grounded, leaving fans to hope the MCU would pursue this type of action for future projects.
Thankfully, Charlie Cox’s Daredevil is changing the MCU for the best with Daredevil: Born Again, Marvel’s biggest Disney+ series that will span 18 episodes with villains like Vincent D’Onofrio returning as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. The extensive project is gearing up to start filming very soon as the show will take the rest of the year to film and then release later in 2024.
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The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Jon Bernthal’s Punisher will be joining the cast in Daredevil: Born Again, meaning that the series might actually be serving as a starting point for a lot of the heroes from the Netflix shows. While Marvel Studios has been quiet about how the characters will fit into the MCU, it seems that every character will get a soft reboot meaning that their stories will be similar to their Netflix series but with a few tweaks here or there to fit better with the MCU.
Early reports said that Bernthal would be in the series, and Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones would also be in the cast. With filming starting soon, there’s a good chance that the Daredevil series will continue to get more exciting updates, but fans should be excited to see the antihero again.
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Sadly, THR does state that other beloved actors from Netflix’s Daredevil, Deborah Ann Wolf’s Karen Page, and Elden Henson’s Foggy are not part of the cast. Marvel could be keeping their MCU return a secret or have found other actors to play their roles in the MCU. Born Again’s story in the comics makes Karen Page a pivotal part of the series so it would be shocking not to include her. Foggy is Matt’s best friend, so if the two don’t show up somehow, it would be a missed opportunity.
The other big thing that might be concerning is that Daredevil: Born Again wasn’t rumored to be TV-MA, meaning that the Punisher’s first MCU debut won’t be as bloody as fans would probably like. While Marvel is fine with R-rated content in the MCU, it’s possible that Bernthal’s debut won’t live up to the hype as the anti-hero might not be a huge killer to avoid terrifying little children watching the series.
For some fans, this might be a nightmare come true, but if Marvel is smart, they could tease how brutal the Punisher is off-screen to avoid rating issues and set up the character’s next project, whether that be his own series or an MCU movie. Either way, it’s great knowing that Bernthal is back as Frank Castle, even if he doesn’t get his hands dirty right away.
Are you excited about Frank Castle’s MCU debut? Let Inside the Magic know what you think!