MOVIE NEWS – In a recent interview, Jon Bernthal opened up about the possibility of playing The Punisher in the MCU, but only if a specific condition is met…

When Jon Bernthal was announced as Frank Castle/The Punisher in Netflix’s Daredevil season 2, no one would have guessed that his breakout performance would be considered one of the best in television history. Initially, there were no further plans for the character, but seeing how convincingly Bernthal brings one of Marvel’s oldest and greatest anti-heroes to the role, the makers were forced to reconsider.

In the end, Jon Bernthal reprised the character in Netflix’s The Punisher, which ran for two seasons between 2017 and 2019 before being abruptly cancelled. Since then, the rights to all of Netflix’s Marvel characters have reverted back to Marvel Studios, and fans have been campaigning fiercely to revive Netflix’s axed series.

Jon Bernthal has also expressed his desire to reprise the character, but Marvel has yet to figure out how to introduce the Punisher into the MCU. Bernthal was recently interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter and talked about several topics, including his upcoming films, his athletic past, his many collaborations with Taylor Sheridan and his improvisational skills. However, when asked if he would comment on the possibility of a PG-13 version of The Punisher in the MCU, Bernthal said he would not do it under those conditions.

This is understandable, given that he played the character with extraordinary dedication for four years. Bernthal has even performed his own stunts, sustaining countless injuries in the process. And then there is the emotional toll that playing the Punisher has taken on him. “He’s really in my heart, man. He’s really in my bones,” Bernthal said of the character. “That’s a road and a darkness and a rage that really, really scares me and brings me to places that I’ve worked the last 20 years to get away from.” Finally, Bernthal said he would only play the Punisher if they didn’t dilute it for the MCU.

“So I was really grateful, respectful and weary of the places where that role took me and the world in which I had to live in. That being said, that’s where that character needs to be.”

“It needs to be a level of darkness.”

“I think if there’s any let up on that character, you do a disservice to the character, to every iteration of the character, to every comic book that’s come before, and to all of the unbelievable fans of the character. This character means so much to people in the military. So like I said before, it’s not about whether you do the character; it’s about whether you can do it right, and I’m only interested in doing it right.”

Well, that’s Jon Bernthal’s condition for playing The Punisher again – you either do it well or not at all. While Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage could, with a few tweaks, fit into the fun and serene MCU, the same cannot be said for The Punisher. Since its debut in 1974, character and violence have gone hand in hand. The tragic backstory of Frank Castle and the way he brutally dispenses justice simply doesn’t lend itself to a family-friendly adaptation, no matter how much Disney-Marvel would like to push it through…

Source: The Hollywood Reporter