Punisher Scene Credited with Getting Daredevil: Born Again “Back on Track”

Jon Bernthal’s return as The Punisher in Daredevil: Born Again was thrilling for Marvel fans, but it also marked a major turning point for the show behind the scenes. Charlie Cox, who stars as lawyer-turned-vigilante Matt Murdock in the Disney+ series, says that Bernthal’s episode four turn as Frank Castle in Born Again convinced Marvel execs that they were going in the wrong direction with the revived project.

“What I heard was when they were then looking at the show and editing it and putting it together, that scene made it by one day,” Cox said, via ScreenRant. “They showed that scene to some of the high-ups at Disney and Marvel, and they were like, ‘This is great. This is the show we want to make.’”

Cox notes that the incident was “part of the narrative behind shifting direction and continuing what we had done previously, which is, you know, tell a kind of very dark, sinister version of Daredevil.” He also says that Bernthal wrote most of the scene in question. “We are very grateful to him for potentially leading us back on track.”

Daredevil: Born Again faced several significant challenges during its development. After filming much of its first season, the series underwent a major rewrite and reshoot process. Showrunner Dario Scardapane and Marvel exec Sana Amanat previously admitted that the show’s initial direction didn’t align with their vision, leading to extensive changes.

Bernthal was also unsure where Born Again was headed, feeling that a more procedural direction and the proposed version of Castle didn’t make sense and wouldn’t hit the right note with fans. But when Punisher writer Scardapane came aboard, so did Bernthal. What we ended up with was a more grounded and intense version of the character than first envisioned.

With an upcoming second season of Daredevil: Born Again slated for release in 2026 and a third season planned after that, fans can expect way more MCU Punisher action in the future. Bernthal is also set to reprise the role in next year’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, although we can expect him to be much less violent in that family-friendly outing.