Jon Bernthal Joins Cast of Marvel’s Daredevil as The Punisher
In what is sure to be a huge milestone casting move, Marvel Entertainment has announced that actor Jon Bernthal has been cast in the role of longtime Marvel Universe vigilante, The Punisher aka Frank Castle. According to the announcement, Bernthal will portray The Punisher in upcoming season season of Marvel’s Daredevil, which will be available exclusively on Netflix in 2016. Frank Castle is an ex-cop, who’s family is brutally gunned down by the mob. Jaded by the event, Castle opts to become a vigilante who wants to clean up the streets of New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen by any means necessary, no matter how lethal the results.
Speaking on the announcement, Marvel Head of TV Jeph Loeb commented: “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. Castle’s appearance will bring dramatic changes to the world of Matt Murdock and nothing will be the same.”
Considering the first season of Daredevil on Netflix was a huge success, due to the darker content and subject matter of the show, many fans believed it would be the perfect format for Marvel Entertainment to revive The Punisher franchise. There have been three different live-action iterations of The Punisher, none of which were really exceptional or successful. The Netflix TV format could be the perfect outlet for Marvel to faithfully realize Frank Castle. One would also hope that the introduction of The Punisher in Daredevil could serve to help get The Punisher his own TV show later on.
The Punisher first appeared in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man Issue No. 129 in 1974. The character was created by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru and John Romita Sr. The new season of Daredevil is executive produced by Doug Petrie, Marco Ramirez, Drew Goddard and Jeph Loeb. Marvel’s Daredevil is produced by Marvel TV in association with ABC Studios.