Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Movies, TV | Tagged: daredevil, daredevil: born again

Daredevil: Born Again: Bernthal Originally Turned Down Punisher Return

Jon Bernthal on turning down returning as Frank Castle/Punisher for the original take on Daredevil: Born Again - and why he changed his mind.

Heading into this week's episode of Showrunner Dario Scardapane and Marvel Television's Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock) and Vincent D'Onofrio (Wilson Fisk/Kingpin)-starring Daredevil: Born Again, it was pretty clear that Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle, aka Punisher, was going to make his presence known in a big way. And that's exactly what we got during "Sic Semper Systema" (directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff and written by David Feige and Jesse Wigutow), with a moment between Frank and Matt that definitely didn't go the way Matt expected it to (no spoilers yet). Speaking with EW for an interview that went live shortly after tonight's premiere, Bernthal shared that he originally turned down the offer to return as Frank, revealing the reason why. From there, he notes what it was that brought him back to "Born Again" and who helped him prepare for his return.

Before the creative overhaul that brought Scardapane on board, Bernthal was approached about a possible return in a series that he felt was too "weekly procedural" and too detached from the original Netflix series. "Ultimately, I didn't see it. I didn't see the version of Frank, and what they wanted from Frank [didn't] really make sense to me and I thought it would not appeal to the fans and wouldn't be congruent. It was not something I was really interested in doing. So we had to walk away," Bernthal shared.

That changed after Marvel Studios hit the brakes and brought on Scardapane to take the reigns of Daredevil: Born Again – especially considering the time that Bernthal spent with The Punisher writer and executive producer during their run together. For this go-around, Bernthal was brought in the help craft the character he had successfully brought to live-action life in the past. They really brought me into the conversation," he explained. "We really got specific about where Frank is psychologically, where Frank's at physically." Bernthal goes on to credit Scardapane, second unit director Phil Silvera, his stunt double, Eric Linden, and trainer Nick Koumalatsos for helping to train and prepare him for his return.

As Bernthal sees it, it's this level of care and concern about a character and how they're portrayed that makes the difference between bringing back a character just for fan-servicing as opposed to bringing them back in a way that stays true to the character and gives the viewers a meaningful experience. "Sometimes you have to be very, very clear with your intentions in this business. You can't get confused with how much you love something, how much you love playing something, how much you want to do something. You got to make sure you're serving it. You got to make sure you're doing justice to the people that believe in it and doing justice to the iterations that have come before you," Bernthal explained.

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