The Punisher star Jon Bernthal has talked about the possibility of returning to the role of The Punisher in the MCU. The actor commented on how if he were to return it must be the correct version of the character that was established in the Netflix series instead of a 'watered down' child-friendly version.

Marvel fans really want to see Bernthal return as The Punisher in the MCU because the actor did an incredible job in the role, and as of now nobody can see anyone else taking over the part. Bernthal put in a lot of work for the character, putting himself into a very bad mental state in order to enter Frank Castle's mindset.

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The Hollywood Reporter did an interview with Bernthal and talked about The Punisher in depth, specifically about what it would take to return to the character. "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." Bernthal also has a famly, like Frank Castle, so it wasn't hard for him to put himself in the mindset of no longer having them around, albeit that is a very dangerous mindset to stay in.

Netflix Punisher

The actor continues on by saying, "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." It's admirable to see Bernthal focused more on his legacy than in doing another Punisher project for the sake of it. Bernthal, like many others, evidently doesn't want Disney-owned Marvel Studios to waterdown the dark and violent character.

Frank Castle, for those who don't know, lost both his wife and kids during a shootout, which is what started him down a path of vengence. He took up a vow to kill and massacre every single person involved in the shootout, hunting down gang members, mobsters, rapists, and anybody else who causes terror in New York City. The Punisher movies told a similar story, but the Netflix series went headfirst into portraying Frank Castle as somebody who is very tortured.

Hopefully Marvel is able to keep the darker tone for the heroes who were exclusive to Netflix, especially with characters like Moon Knight, Blade, Deadpool and potentially Morbius coming into the fold. There shouldn't be any reason as to why Disney decides to take out the dark tone of these Marvel characters. Disney's Marvel movies have typically been lighthearted with high amounts of comedy and even lower amounts of blood. The Punisher's two season run was the exact opposite of this formula, so if they brought Frank Castle back, Disney shouldn't abandon the vision by making it kid friendly because it doesn't really fit with the character. Deadpool, The Boys, Invincible, and The Dark Knight trilogy have all proved that superhero projects don't need to be soft to do well

The Punisher is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter