Home > News > Jon Bernthal Nearly Exits Daredevil: Born Again, Reveals Why

Jon Bernthal Nearly Exits Daredevil: Born Again, Reveals Why

Author:Kristen Update:May 03,2025

Since the 2015 Netflix series, it's become hard to picture Charlie Cox's Daredevil without Jon Bernthal's Punisher. However, Bernthal recently shared the reason he was initially hesitant to join the Disney+ revival, Daredevil: Born Again.

The actor, known for his role in The Wolf of Wall Street, expressed his reservations about the initial creative direction for his character, Frank Castle, also known as The Punisher. "Ultimately, I didn't see it. I didn't see the version of Frank, and what they wanted from Frank [didn't] really make sense to me,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I thought [it] would not appeal to the fans and wouldn't be congruent. It was not something I was really interested in doing. So we had to walk away."

PlayFollowing a significant creative overhaul after the strikes, the series saw the appointment of Dario Scardapane as the new showrunner. This change marked a turning point for Bernthal, who had previously collaborated with Scardapane on *The Punisher*. "They really brought me into the conversation," Bernthal said, highlighting the discussions he had with Scardapane and Marvel about Frank's psychological and physical state in *Born Again*.

Warning! Spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again follow.