Daredevil (Charlie Cox) is officially coming back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in the upcoming Disney+ series, Daredevil: Born Again. Cox first starred as Matt Murdock (a.k.a. Daredevil) in the Netflix series, Daredevil, which ran for 3 seasons before it was canceled. After Netflix’s Defenders series all wrapped, some feared we’d never see Cox as Daredevil again. However, the MCU decided to integrate a few of the Netflix characters and stars into their universe.
Vincent D’Onofrio was the first Daredevil star to join in the MCU, reprising his role as Kingpin in Hawkeye. Shortly after, Cox had a small cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home as Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) lawyer. These were just small teases, but since then, the MCU has made it clear that Cox and D’Onofrio are in the MCU to stay. Cox recently appeared in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, while Cox and D’Onofrio appeared in the Disney+ series, Echo.
At the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, Cox was confirmed to be getting his own series, Daredevil: Born Again. The series is a reboot of Daredevil, but it will be a direct continuation of Echo. Cox and D’Onofrio were the first two actors confirmed to appear in the series. However, many fans are holding out hope that Daredevil: Born Again will reintroduce other Defenders characters, such as Daredevil fan-favorite The Punisher (Jon Bernthal).
Is the Punisher in Daredevil: Born Again?
As revealed by The Hollywood Reporter on March 7, 2023, Bernthal will return as Frank Castle (a.k.a. the Punisher) in Daredevil: Born Again. He will join the ensemble cast of D’Onofrio, Cox, Margarita Levieva, Sandrine Holt, Michael Gandolfini, and Nikki M. James. While Bernthal will be returning as the Punisher, the exact details of his role remain unknown. The series is loosely based on the 1986 comic book story arc Born Again, but that storyline did not initially include Castle.
Cox, D’Onofrio, and Bernthal aren’t the only Netflix cast members reprising their roles. Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson, who played Karen Page and Foggy Nelson, respectively, are joining the new series.
Frank is back on set
Reports began to circulate online that Bernthal was seen on the set of Daredevil: Born Again in New York City. The news came from someone seeing Bernthal on set, much like how fans got confirmation about Foggy and Karen returning to the series.
The reports say that Bernthal was seen in-costume covered in fake blood for the series. Whether that means he’s on Matt’s side or not, we don’t know but it is exciting that he’s back in the Marvel world!
The Punisher was highly rumored to be returning
Before THR‘s report, The Punisher was already rumored to return. The rumors were facilitated by podcaster, Tom Smith, via Twitter. Smith explained that initial rumors suggested Krysten Ritter would be returning to the MCU in some capacity as Jessica Jones. Many assumed she would have a role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. However, Smith confirmed with Charles Murphy, a Marvel insider, that Ritter was never considered for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Instead, Ritter was in talks to join Daredevil: Born Again. According to Smith, those plans fell through because of scheduling conflicts. This meant that the MCU was reportedly looking for someone to fill the spot previously reserved for Ritter and that they chose Bernthal to do so. Check out Smith’s Tweets below:
This wasn’t the first time that Bernthal was rumored to be returning, as Rosario Dawson had once seemingly confirmed his return, before refuting her statement. On November 4, 2022, a post from an unknown actor also sparked speculation about Bernthal’s return as The Punisher. Kasey O’Keefe posted a picture on Instagram of him posing next to Bernthal. O’Keefe started the post by giving praise to Bernthal. However, in his conclusion, he wrote, “Looking forward to working with you during Marvel Phase 5!!”
O’Keefe also added #punisher to the tags in his post. The post seemingly confirmed Bernthal’s return as The Punisher. However, there wasn’t much to support O’Keefe’s claims. First of all, he is a relative newcomer to the film industry, boasting only one credit to his name on IMDb. There also wasn’t any evidence that he had been cast in the MCU, making it odd that he claimed he would be working with Bernthal in Marvel Phase 5. Hence, his claims were taken with a grain of salt. However, after months of these unconfirmed rumors, Bernthal is, indeed, returning as The Punisher.
(via: Dexerto.com, featured image: Netflix)
