One of the highlights of Andrew Lincoln’s brilliant exit-episode from The Walking Dead was Jon Bernthal unexpectedly cropping up to reprise the role of Rick Grimes’s dead ex-partner, Shane Walsh. It gave the actor a welcome opportunity to lay the character to rest, and for fans to bid him a fond farewell, as well as Lincoln. And it transpires that is something Bernthal has already been thinking about in relation to what may be his final outing as The Punisher.
Despite overwhelming audience support for The Punisher to be renewed for a third season, it seems there is little chance of the series reviving anything other than the same fate of the other Defenders shows. For both financial and logistical reasons, the collaboration between Netflix and Marvel is simply no longer viable, and it remains to be seen if Disney will want to sustain such a brutal and bloody product when their focus is centered so squarely on family-friendly material.
Electing to address the fact that Frank Castle my finally be facing a battle that he simply can’t win, Bernthal gave an emotional interview to Variety this week, in which he revealed he had already come to terms with the show’s possible cancellation:
“I know the reality of the situation and I’m at peace with it. I really only worry about the things I can control. When I’m playing the character and I’m doing the job and it’s right there in front of me, I do whatever I can to make it as good as I can. But in this business there’s so much we can’t control… Whatever is happening with these shows, these decisions are being made in rooms I’m not invited into and I’m okay with that.”
Regardless of what the future holds for The Punisher, Bernthal’s versatility and extraordinary work-rate means that he’ll continue to appear on our screens in the biggest and best projects that are available. In-between a slew of huge movie appearances such as Sicario, The Wolf Of Wall Street and Baby Driver, he has continued to fit in DC animated features and other TV work, giving him a wide-ranging audience appeal.
Two projects already in the pipeline for him include a film biopic of the epic battle between the Ford and a Ferrari motor companies at Le Mans during the 1960’s, and also a sequel to 2016’s The Accountant, where he played Ben Affleck’s hitman younger brother.
Season 2 of The Punisher is available to stream on Netflix now, with an announcement on the show’s future expected in the immediate future.