We have been hearing rumors about The Punisher joining the MCU for quite some time with suggestions that Frank Castle, played by John Bernthal, is part of the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again TV show. Now, new information from the reliable Hollywood insider, MyTimeToShineHello, reveals that The Punisher will have his own TV show. The show is now reportedly in development and will be streaming on Disney+.
The unannounced series will see Bernthal return to the series as the vigilante, Frank Castle, better known as The Punisher.
Bernthal starred in the standalone Netflix series Punisher for two seasons before the streaming platform pulled the plug as Disney retrieved its license.
Fans are hoping that the upcoming Disney+ will have the same level of intensity as the original As Marvel Studios is now more open to shows that are R-rated.
After Daredevil: Born Again Punisher will get his own show again omg it's happening
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) May 28, 2023
Bernthal has previously said that he will not be reprising his role as The Punisher if Marvel decides to tone down the mature content. The actor explained that it would be a disservice to the character and to fans if the series gets “watered down”.
“That being said, that’s where that character needs to be. It needs to be a level of darkness,” Bernthal said. “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.”
It will be interesting to see how Marvel Studios introduces Frank Castle to the MCU. The rumor did not state whether the upcoming show will be a reboot for the character or a continuation of the Netflix series. We assume that Marvel would do a soft reboot of the story to avoid having the Netflix series as part of the MCU canon.
Marvel may opt to have Bernthal appear in one of the upcoming Disney+ series like Daredevil: Born Again and Echo. This was the path that the studio took with Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock aka Daredevil. Murdock appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law before getting his own series.
The Punisher will now be incorporated into the larger MCU alongside the aforementioned Daredevil and Echo. Frank Castle could potentially be included in other projects like partnering with Spider-Man in a movie.
These are rumors at this point as Marvel has not confirmed anything related to The Punisher so take this information with a grain of salt.
