Posted in: Disney+, Movies, TV | Tagged: daredevil, punisher

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2: Is the Punisher Appearing or Not?

Will Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle/Punisher be a factor in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2? Marvel Studios' Brad Winderbaum has us confused.

It's not that we're not going to be seeing Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle, aka Punisher, back in action pretty soon. Along with an appearance in Marvel Studios' Tom Holland-starring Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Bernthal and director Reinaldo Marcus Green (We Own This City) have penned a Punisher "Special Presentation" for Disney+. The one place he won't be, apparently, is the second season of Showrunner Dario Scardapane and Marvel Television's Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil) and Vincent D'Onofrio (Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin)-starring Daredevil: Born Again. Despite the second season seeing Daredevil assemble his own team to take down Kingpin and the deadly vigilante, freeing himself before the season one finale wrapped, it seemed like the perfect setting for Castle's return.

Which is why we found the response from Marvel Studios' Brad Winderbaum during a recent EW preview profile piece on the show's return a little odd. "The less I say, the better," Winderbaum responded when asked about Frank's status heading into the second season. "The Punisher TV special really does connect into the time and place that 'Daredevil: Born Again' season 2 takes place." Hmmm… it's a tough call on that one. Could Frank end up appearing in some capacity, possibly a phone call or something like that? Could Frank play a bigger role than what's being reported? Is Winderbaum attempting put some of the metaphorical toothpaste back in the metaphorical tube by pushing the idea that there could be a surprise? We'll find out beginning March 2026.

Along with hosting a panel showcasing what's on the horizon with Marvel Television and Marvel Animation during New York Comic Con 2025 back in October, Winderbaum took some time to speak with Phase Hero LIVE's Brandon Davis about a number of projects in various stages of development that weren't previously highlighted, including an update on how things were looking with the "Special Presentation." Winderbaum noted that it had "wrapped up" filming-wise and was "in editorial now." In addition, he shared that Academy Award-winning DP Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood, Ripley) filmed the special. "Beautiful piece and incredibly acted by John [Bernthal]. I mean, really emotional and wild," Winderbaum added.

"I've said it a million times: Frank is in my bones, is in my heart. I care about him," Bernthal shared with Collider during an interview at April's CinemaCon 2025 (where he was supporting his and Ben Affleck's film, The Accountant 2) when asked how his co-writing the special came about. "In discussing what this thing could be and this sort of version of Frank that I really felt that the audience was hungry for, that the military community was hungry for it, the first responder community, the comic book fans, they were really hungry for it. I presented that version to them, and they encouraged me. They encouraged me to keep coming to the table," Bernthal added.

He continued, "As we were talking with different writers, the ideas that we were coming up with started to resonate, and I think they saw how much they resonated with me. I got a great group of vets that I work with. One in particular, my friend Nick, he's just been incredible. I hope that it goes alright. I don't like talking about these things because it's a little bit of bark before there's a bite, you know? I'm honored, and I'm grateful. It's an incredible group of people that we're assembling."

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