Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Netflix, Preview, TV | Tagged: daredevil, disney, hawkeye, jon bernthal, marvel, netflix, punisher

The Punisher: Why Jon Bernthal Was "Perfect", Future Storylines & More

Okay, let me just start off by throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign because I'm not quite sure where things stand with spoilers when it comes to Spider-Man: No Way Home and Disney+'s Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton) & Hailee Steinfeld (Kate Bishop)-starring Hawkeye. Saving the hardcore spoilers for later in the post, we'll just say that Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio have been showing up in some interesting places in some very familiar roles as of late, and it doesn't appear to be ending any time soon (like possibly, this Wednesday?). So with the spotlight shining brightly on Netflix's now-canceled mini-MCU (in particular, Daredevil), Cox and D'Onofrio aren't the only ones being buzzed about when it comes to a return, with many hoping/expecting Deborah Ann Woll's Karen Page to appear. Another name that's been buzzed about well before all of this recent attention is Jon Bernthal, who gave what many consider to be the consummate take on Frank Castle aka The Punisher on both Daredevil and his own spinoff series. And Bernthal has said in the past that he's open for a return to the role as long as the project remains faithful to the character. So we thought it would be a good time to share the following two videos that were posted to coincide with a Prop Store auction that was going on for items from the series.

While meant to promote the auction, the featurettes offer some interesting insights into what Marvel Executive Vice President & Creative Director Joe Quesada thought about Bernthal's take on Frank Castle as well as what the future of The Punisher could've been. Here's a look at Quesada discussing why Bernthal was the perfect choice for Castle, how the actor made the character his own, and more:

And here's a look Quesada, The Punisher showrunner Steve Lightfoot, and Prop Store's Chuck Costas discussing the series' more memorable episodes, goings-on behind the scenes, possible directions the series may have gone in, and more:

Here's a look at the newest teaser for the Hawkeye season/series finale, as all of the attention gets directed on "The Boss" who's been running everything from behind the scenes:

Here's a look at D'Onofrio's tweet from last week, saying a whole lot with only five words but five words that fans of Netflix's Daredevil should find very familiar. Stay tuned for what's about to go down this week  (especially when you're never quite sure who will show up)

Towards the end of last week's episode of Hawkeye, Clint decided to go full-on Ronin and set up a meeting with Maya (Alaqua Cox). Needless to say, she didn't come alone… but since we're talking Ronin Clint, that really didn't matter a whole lot. But after besting Maya, Clint took off his Ronin mask to show his face… and to let Maya know that this all ends now. To further punctuate his point, Clint revealed to her that it was the season's "big guy" who's been getting everyone trembling who wanted her dad dead. Not taking too well to that news, Maya still looked to put down Clint but not before a narrow save from Kate.

Taking some time at Grills' (Clayton English) apartment to process everything, Kate received a text message from Yelena that confirmed what we've been speculating about for weeks but still has that "oh shit" quality to it. In the image, Kate's mom Eleanor (Vera Farmiga) is seen meeting with none other than Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin (D'Onofrio). So if you're thinking that it was actually Eleanor who hired the Black Widow hit on Clint, you would be right (and possibly as big of a shocker if not more).

As for what the confirmation of D'Onofrio's Kingpin means big picture? Well, the possibilities are pretty endless. With D'Onofrio in play and now that we've got Cox aka Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home showing off some skills, it would appear we're getting some integration of the Netflix MCU into the proper MCU. That said, I'm expecting there to be a "shaving away" of certain things in that it won't exactly be the Netflix series' full canon coming along for the ride (as Cox has cautioned fans about in the past). As for where they could end up, we definitely know that Disney+'s Tatiana Maslany-starring She-Hulk is now in play. But honestly, you could have Cox's Murdock, D'Onofrio's Kingpin, and a number of other characters from the NMCU (Netflix MCU) make the way over to play a role of some type in any number of series coming down the line- from Secret Wars to Armor Wars.

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