Jon Bernthal on Nearly Skipping Daredevil: Born Again Return

Since the 2015 Netflix series, it's become almost unthinkable to picture Charlie Cox's Daredevil without Jon Bernthal's Punisher. However, Bernthal recently shed light on why he initially declined to reprise his role in the Disney+ revival, Daredevil: Born Again.

The actor, known for his role in The Wolf of Wall Street, shared that his initial hesitation stemmed from the creative direction proposed for his character, Frank Castle, also known as The Punisher. "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,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “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."

Following a significant creative overhaul after the strikes, the series saw the appointment of Dario Scardapane as the new showrunner. This change marked a turning point for Bernthal, who had previously collaborated with Scardapane on The Punisher series. "They really brought me into the conversation," Bernthal explained, highlighting the discussions about Frank's psychological and physical state in the new series.

Warning! Spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again follow.