Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, TV | Tagged: daredevil: born again, disney, jon bernthal, lionsgate, The Punisher, thomas jane

Punisher: Jon Bernthal, Thomas Jane Have "Frank" Talk at Gun Range

Jon Bernthal (Daredevil: Born Again) on having had a chance to discuss Frank Castle/Punisher with Thomas Jane - at a gun range, of course.

As long as Marvel keeps entertaining the idea of multiverses and crossovers, we got one in real life when The Punisher TV series star Jon Bernthal met his pre-MCU counterpart Thomas Jane, who played the character in the 2004 Lionsgate standalone film from Jonathan Hensleigh. While promoting his upcoming series Daredevil: Born Again at D23 with guests receiving a special sneak preview, Bernthal spoke to Entertainment Weekly about his chance meeting with Jane, who happened to be in the same gun range, and traded notes on their character and alter ego, Frank Castle.

The Punisher Star Jon Bernthal on Showing "Respect" to His 2004 Predecessor, Thomas Jane

"Oh, jeez. That is a whole hodge-podge of shit you're not really supposed to talk [about]," Bernthal said with a laugh. "We trained the same day at the gun range together. While I was training for this, he happened to be there. But it was an incredible opportunity to be with him and get his take on it, and an honor to be with him. He's someone I respect. I respect him deeply, and we had a great time." Jane was the second actor to play The Punisher after Dolph Lundgren, who starred in the 1989 Cannon film. Jane's incarnation battled crime boss Howard Saint, played by John Travolta. The late Ray Stevenson (Ahsoka) took over the role in 2008's Punisher: War Zone, which was a Lionsgate reboot but not tied to the MCU. Bernthal succeeded Stevenson when he first played the character in season two of Netflix's Daredevil and later starred in the spinoff series, The Punisher.

The Walking Dead star is back where he started in Daredevil with the Disney+ legacy sequel series Born Again and guiding the way as showrunner is a familiar face in The Punisher writer Dario Scardapane. With the change in direction that allows holdovers from the original Netflix series to return for the new Disney+ series, the characters will be allowed to retain their histories. "And not in a spoon-fed, candy-ass way," Bernthal said. "If there were things that were much different, … it was done for a reason and very intentional. It wasn't just huge jumps. I do continue to be blown away by how respectful this group [is] and how much these folks who lead this show demand that we're respectful to the fans."

For the record, I'm cool with a Lundgren, Jane, and Bernthal crossover Punisher event [Ed. Note: "Crisis with Infinite Castles"?]. For more, including comments from stars Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Deborah Ann Woll, you can check out the entire interview. Daredevil: Born Again premieres on March 2025 on Disney+.

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