Since the 2015 Netflix series, it's become nearly impossible to envision Charlie Cox's Daredevil without Jon Bernthal's Punisher. However, Bernthal recently disclosed why he was initially hesitant to join the Disney+ revival, Daredevil: Born Again.
The actor, known for his role in The Wolf of Wall Street, explained that he was not thrilled with the initial 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 shared with 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 industry strikes, producer Dario Scardapane was appointed as the new showrunner for the series. It was at this point that Bernthal began to see a fitting role for Frank in *Born Again*."They really brought me into the conversation," Bernthal said of 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.