While fans and speculators are already quickly writing off Phase 5 of the MCU after the less than stellar reception of Quantumania, there’s still hope that Marvel Studios can course correct. Case in point, the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again Disney+ series will see not only Charlie Cox return as the titular Man Without Fear but Vincent D’Onofrio also returned as Wilson Fisk a.k.a. Kingpin. It appears they won’t be the only actors to make the jump from Netflix into the MCU proper as The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Jon Bernthal will be suiting up once more as Frank Castle better known as The Punisher in the Born Again series.
The inclusion of The Punisher is a bit of a surprise, not the least of which is the fact that the character has become somewhat controversial in recent years due to his iconic skull logo being adopted by fringe groups. Gerry Conway, co-creator of the character, who vocally criticized police use of the Punisher’s skull emblem in the past, worked with a group of artists to put together a Skulls for Justice campaign that to reclaim the skull logo. Moreover, in Punisher #13 from writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Szymon Kudranski featured a scene where Frank Castle chastised two police officers for co-opting his emblem and image for the Blue Lives Matter movement.
Whether or not Jon Bernthal will wear anything bearing the skull logo or how the character will be depicted in the series remains to be seen. Let the speculation begin how long before Mike Colter or Krysten Ritter return as Luke Cage and Jesssica Jones.
Overseeing the Daredevil: Born Again series are writers and and executive producers Matt Corman and Chris Ord. Inspired by the eponymous comic storyline by writer Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, Born Again is considered one of the most quinessential Daredevil stories. Planned for 18-episodes, the series is expected to premiere in the spring of 2024. Hopefully Marvel Studios has learned from the mistakes of Phase 4 and will properly space out the release of its projects better this time.
Heh, I love how Bernthal proudly confirms his return with a photo of him in full Punishes-regalia, skull and all, and pop-culture writers keep wondering ‘will he be wearing the skull logo?’. Stop trying to make this a thing, guys.
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