If you were to believe all the rumors to have made their way online since the rights to The Punisher reverted to Marvel Studios, then you’d be under the impression that Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle was set for an imminent return to our screens long before the end of Phase Four.
Solo outings, streaming shows on either Hulu or Disney Plus, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man: No Way Home; you name it, and Netflix’s former street-level vigilante has been linked to it. Bernthal has never been shy in admitting that he holds the character very close to his heart, but so far we’ve yet to hear anything concrete about a comeback or lack thereof.
It was only very recently that the 44-year-old offered a lengthy and eloquent response to a question about his hypothetical future as the Punisher, but he was briefer when asked in another interview.
“I don’t know, man. I don’t know. You know, yeah. I don’t know about all that”.
You could bet your house on Bernthal being asked Punisher-related questions everywhere he goes until he either definitively draws a line under his association with the comic book cult favorite, or makes his official Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. All the Netflix Defenders have been touted for a return at one stage or another, except for Finn Jones (because Iron Fist sucked), so the speculation isn’t going to go away for a long while yet.
