Following the news of Marvel characters returning like Charlie Cox’s Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, many fans have been wondering where that leaves The Punisher – last played by Jon Bernthal. There have been rumors going around for a while about a potential return, including a Disney Plus series revival similar to the one Daredevil is getting in Daredevil: Born Again, but nothing confirmed.
Now, however, it looks like the news of a Punisher MCU return with Jon Bernthal may have been revealed.
While speaking at a panel at Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Rosario Dawson revealed that The Punisher was “happening again”.
She said:
“I haven’t heard that announcement, but I found out yesterday that The Punisher was happening again. So, I feel like it’s my second chance, ’cause it was the only one of the shows that I wasn’t in — and I love Jon Bernthal. So, let’s all make it happen collectively, guys.”
Rosario Dawson reveals at #C2E22022 that #ThePunisher is getting revived with Jon Bernthal returning pic.twitter.com/c3VInNf3dJ
— Caleb Williams (@KnightGambit) August 7, 2022
Rosario Dawson played Clarie Temple in Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage – so her comments are very interesting.
When speaking about a potential return last year, Bernthal was quoted as saying:
“That character, in particular, has real, real, real deep, deep meaning for me and resonance in me. 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.”
He added:
“That being said, that’s where that character needs to be. It needs to be a level of darkness. 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.”
If the announcement is true, fans of the iconic Marvel character will definitely be excited. As some of you may already know, a recent rumor suggested an announcement for a new Disney Plus Punisher series would be coming at this year’s D23 Expo.
Whatever happens, we’ll be sure to keep you posted on the latest news regarding The Punisher as we get it.