Credit – Gage Skidmore WikiCommons
Jon Bernthal is an actor that goes against the typical Hollywood grain of Kool Aid drinkers, and has proven time and time again that he is an actor that loves his craft and just wants to entertain. He’s a fierce advocate of the military and first responders and compared to many in Hollywood, is unashamedly so. Jon Bernthal is a rare breed in Hollywood and can be compared to the likes of Clint Eastwood, Chris Pratt, and Keanu Reeves, who don’t preach to their fans, but rather appreciate them instead. Jon Bernthal gave fans of the Punisher a reason to have hope when he came out adamantly, that any depiction of the Punisher needed to remain dark and true to the character from the comic books. It is oft the exception, rather than the rule, for a celebrity to acknowledge the importance of the fans, but Jon Bernthal has done just that with the Punisher character, and his recent response to the possibility of Frank Castle appearing in the MCU.
The Punisher Needs to be Portrayed in a Level of Darkness
Jon Bernthal played Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher, for two seasons on Netflix. He was asked in a recent interview, from The Hollywood Reporter, how he felt about the possibility of The Punisher appearing in the MCU, and Bernthal’s response was very personal. In the article, by Brian Davids, Bernthal explained how real and deeply meaningful the character of Frank Castle was for him.
“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.
Credit Marvel Comics
So I was really grateful, respectful and wary of the places where that role took me and the world in which I had to live in. 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.”
In any interview I’ve seen or social media post, Jon Bernthal has been very consistent in his belief on how the Punisher character should be portrayed. His dedication to the source material and Frank castle’s history, are a breath of fresh air, in a Hollywood bent on rewriting franchises in the name of a social justice fallacy.
Kevin Feige Needs to Stay Faithful to the Punisher Character
The Punisher would be a welcome addition to the MCU, but with the direction Kevin Feige is taking the MCU, it might not be a friendly environment for a dark and gritty Punisher. With ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ opening in theaters later this month, the introduction of the multiverse, which would include any iteration of Marvel characters, makes anything possible. The rumors that ‘Daredevil’s’ Charlie Cox might make an appearance(another Netflix Marvel show which took place in the same universe as Jon Bernthal’s Punisher, and was just as gritty), confirms that…but at what cost? Is Charlie Cox just as dedicated to the dark Daredevil character as Jon Bernthal is to Frank Castle? I’m not sure. The Netflix Marvel Universe was made up of the darker side of the Marvel Universe’s characters. Those shows were controlled by Marvel Television before it was folded into Marvel Studios. Kevin Feige didn’t have his hands all over those characters which allowed for a truer representation of the characters vs what Marvel is producing now. If characters such as daredevil, Punisher, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones do come over to the MCU, I think it might spell trouble for how those characters are treated as well. Jon Bernthal said it right when he stated that it doesn’t matter whether you do the character, it matters if you do them right…and Jon Bernthal is only interested in a Punisher that stays faithful to the character. I hope he stands his ground if Marvel does decide to bring back the Punisher.
Related: The Once Indestructible Kevin Feige
