Marvel Television released the first trailer for The Punisher: One Last Kill earlier this month, and the MCU's third Special Presentation has now been given an official TV-MA rating.
When we first heard that Jon Bernthal was set to reprise the role of Frank Castle in Daredevil: Born Again after playing the ruthless vigilante in Marvel's Netflix shows, there was some concern that the character might be toned down for his MCU debut. Fans needn't have worried, as Frank was his usual ultra-violent self.
Coming off his Born Again appearance, this solo outing for The Punisher landing a TV-MA rating obviously isn't a surprise, but it is worth noting that we will meet a very different take on Castle in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This had led to some speculation that Marvel might have decided to ease audiences in with a more family-friendly version of the anti-hero in One Last Kill, but the recent trailer pretty much put an end to that theory with flashes of bloodletting and an F-bomb or two.
While chatting to THR in a 2021 interview, Bernthal gave an in-depth response when asked about the possibility of returning as Castle in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
"That character, in particular, has real, real, real deep, deep meaning for me and resonance in me," he began. "He’s really in my heart, man. He’s really in my bones. I’m enormously protective of that character. I’ve said before that there’s nothing in this world more important to me than my wife and my kids, and only until you understand that kind of love and what it really means to willingly die for somebody, [do you understand] what it would be like if somebody took them from you. That’s a road and a darkness and a rage that really, really scares me and brings me to places that I’ve worked the last 20 years to get away from. So I was really grateful, respectful and weary of the places where that role took me and the world in which I had to live in."
"That being said, that’s where that character needs to be. It needs to be a level of darkness," he continued. "I think if there’s any let up on that character, you do a disservice to the character, to every iteration of the character, to every comic book that’s come before, and to all of the unbelievable fans of the character. This character means so much to people in the military. So like I said before, it’s not about whether you do the character; it’s about whether you can do it right, and I’m only interested in doing it right."
Bernthal was clearly given the go-ahead to make Castle every bit as unhinged and brutal as we've ever seen him in Born Again, but there is zero chance he'll have the same freedom in Brand New Day. Still, the fact that he agreed to sign on for the movie does suggest that he was happy with what the studio has planned for the character.
Bernthal also co-wrote the script with his We Own This City director Reinaldo Marcus Green, who is also on board to helm the Special.
"It's like a shotgun blast of a story, but also has all the pathos and emotion that you want out of a Frank Castle story," Marvel TV's Brad Winderbaum said in a recent interview. "It's so exciting."
Winderbaum also revealed that the idea for a Punisher standalone story manifested during production on Born Again.
"Bernthal is a generational actor," Winderbaum added. "He's incredible what he brings to all the roles he plays, but particularly Frank Castle. And he's a great writer. He knows the character inside and out.... Also, I love Punisher, but I love Jon's Punisher in particular. The idea that he's in the MCU and can bring that to the greater universe, especially the more grounded street-level stuff, is a huge opportunity and, as a fan, the greatest thing ever."