Jon Bernthal doesn’t have a crystal clear picture of where exactly his acting career will take him next, but the star ofThe Punisherstill hasn’t quite moved on from Frank Castle. Along with every other Marvel-based series on Netflix,The Punisherwas brought to a premature end when the streaming giant axed the show. Prior to its abrupt end, however, Bernthal had excelled in his performance as the titular vigilante, and fans are still holding out hope for seeing him return in a revival series or even in a theatrical Marvel movie. As it turns out, Bernthal himself is among those fans, as he apparently hasn’t been able to fully let go of the character yet either.
Speaking with fans at Fandemic Tour Houston,Jon Bernthalwas directly asked which other Marvel or DC characters he would like to play following his run on Netflix as Frank Castle. The actor admits he doesn’t have his heart set on any one particular comic book character, but he’s open-minded enough to consider any role so as long as the script is great and he’ll be working with good people. Here’s how Bernthal explains his thought process concerning taking on any other roles based on previously-establishedcomic book heroes or villains.
“I don’t know what the next great thing is, so I don’t have my eyes on, ‘I want to play the Hulk,’ or some sh-t like that… If something comes to me, and it’s written well, and it’s with people I really want to roll with, I’m gonna roll. And if it’s not, I’m not gonna do it… I don’t have my eyes on any of them, but if something cool came around, let’s talk about it.”
While clearly open to taking on any role if the opportunity feels right, Bernthal also suggested he’s still on board to reprise the role ofFrank Castlein another project if the folks at Marvel and Disney ever give him the opportunity by adding:
“I love Frank, too… I really don’t have any desire to move off of him.”
The Punisheris one of a handful ofMarvel-based shows which aired on Netflixas a part of the “DefendersVerse.” Frank Castle was first introduced as an antagonist onDaredevilbefore later being given his own spin-off series. Also included in the DefendersVerse areJessica Jones,Luke Cage, andIron Fist, with all of them crossing over for the single-season spin-offThe Defenders. Although no characters from the movies had ever crossed over into any of the shows, each of these Netflix series were all set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is why no other versions of these characters have yet been seen in any of the theatrical MCU movies. It also opens the door to bring in some or all of the characters from the axed Netflix shows.
Based on the Marvel Comics character,The Punisherstarred Bernthal as a military veteran whose life is completely shattered when his entire family is ruthlessly murdered. Taking a much more deadly approach to fighting crime than The Avengers, Frank adopts the moniker of “The Punisher” as he executes criminals to prevent them from harming anyone else ever again. The portrayal of the character by Bernthal has been highly regarded by critics and fans, and because both of the show’s only two seasons were very strong, many of us were left desiring more after Netflix gave Frank and his pals fromThe Defendersthe boot.
As for where we can see Bernthal next, the actor can be found co-starring with Matt Damon and Christian Bale inFord v Ferrari, which hits theaters on Nov. 15. He can also be seen in next year’sThe Many Saints of Newark, which serves as a prequel to the HBO seriesThe Sopranos. Bernthal’s comments aboutThe Punishercome from Fandemic Tour Houston and were transcribed byComicBook.com.
