Marvel fans celebrate Jon Bernthal’s reported return as The Punisher in Daredevil series

Bernthal played the anti-hero in his own series from 2017 to 2019

Jon Bernthal will return as The Punisher in Marvel’s new Daredevil series produced for Disney Plus.

The actor played Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, in two seasons of The Punisher on Netflix, between 2017 and 2019.

Now, The Hollywood Reporter reports that Bernthal will reprise the role in Daredevil: Born Again.

Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio also star in the 18-episode series, reprising their roles from Netflix’s Daredevil.

The Independent has contacted Disney for comment.

People shared their enthusiasm about the news on social media, with one Marvel fan writing that Daredevil: Born Again was “getting better by the minute”.

“I love this! I’m still so disappointed The Punisher was cancelled,” another person wrote, with someone else noting that Bernthal was “the perfect Punisher”.

“Jon Bernthal returning as the punisher! I used to pray for times like this,” one fan wrote.

Bernthal first played the role of Castle, a grieving father who becomes a violent vigilante, in Netflix’s Daredevil back in 2016, before being given his own series.

Jon Bernthal in 'The Punisher' (David Lee/Netflix)

The Punisher was cancelled in 2019, along with a number of other Netflix series based on Marvel characters (Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Daredevil).

The cancellations came ahead of the launch of Disney Plus, with the rights to the series transferring over to Disney.

Before Born Again, Cox previously returned as Matt Murdoch (aka Daredevil) in 2021’s MCU blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home and the 2021 Disney Plus series She-Hulk: Attorney at Lawi.

Fans have speculated that other actors from the Netflix shows, such as Bernthal, could return to the MCU, either in revival series in the vein of Born Again or as supporting characters in other films and TV shows.

The Punisher can currently be streamed on Disney Plus.