Since the 2015 Netflix series, it's nearly impossible to imagine Charlie Cox's Daredevil without Jon Bernthal's Punisher. However, Bernthal recently disclosed why he initially declined to be part of the Disney+ revival, Daredevil: Born Again.
The actor, known for his role in The Wolf of Wall Street, shared that he was approached for the series but was not entirely thrilled with the creative direction planned 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 revealed to 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 producer Dario Scardapane as the new showrunner. It was at this point that Bernthal began to envision a role for Frank in *Born Again*."They really brought me into the conversation," Bernthal explained about his discussions with Scardapane, with whom he had previously collaborated on The Punisher series, and Marvel. "We really got specific about where Frank is psychologically, where Frank's at physically."
Warning! Spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again follow.
