From the outset, this article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home and Hawkeye, so if you are still trying to avoid them, back away now.
Marvel fans have seen many of their Christmas wishes coming true this year with crossovers, returning stars and the promise of much more to come.Spider-Man: No Way Homehas delivered more than it promised, with villains and heroes from Sony’s previous Spider-Man universes coming together, along with a brief introduction to Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil, andHawkeyecame to conclusion this weekwith the arrival of another formerDaredevilparticipant in Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin. So the question is where does that leave other stars and characters that have previously played Marvel characters on TV?
According to rumors that have already done the rounds and have now been reignited by recent events in the MCU,Jon Bernthalis said to be wanted in the MCU asThe Punisher.While it has been suggested previously by fans that Bernthal should make a return as the character, this time around it looks like he is potentially being headhunted by Marvel themselves to appear in one of their as yet unannounced new Spider-Man movies as well as a solo project somewhere further down the line.
It should be pointed out that at this time it is very much just a rumor and seems to rely on many things coming into play. For a start, there is Bernthal’s comments that unless the character was done right and didn’t come as some “watered down” version he wasn’t interested in returning, but in 2018 he did say he would love to appear withTom Holland’s Spider-Man after the pair worked together on the moviePilgrimage. At the time he said:
“I’m in love with Tom Holland, you know what I mean? That’s my dude. For me, it’s not about… I have no aspirations or desire to do anything besides what I’m doing. I love this character. I believe in him. He’s in my bones. I feel honored to play him, and I want to keep playing him. So in all honesty, there’s no part of me that says, ‘Oh, I hope I’m in the movies.’ It’s whatever it’ll be. That being said, there’s one character and one actor that I just have the utmost respect for in the Marvel Universe and without a question it’s Tom.”
The biggest stumbling block for that happening though is that it is very likely that any Spider-Man collaboration would have to be a PG-13 rated affair, and Bernthal doesn’t want that. Earlier this month he told The Hollywood Reporter:
“So I was really grateful, respectful and weary 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 may do it right, and I’m only interested in doing it right.”
Despite that, Disney and Marvel Studios do seem to be considering some of the darker and more adult orientated characters of the Marvel Universe, with the likes ofDeadpoolset to make their MCU debut soon in an R-rated format. With theNetflixMarvel Television universe having always trodden the darker side of the comic book world and now seeming to be canon in the MCU,at least as far as theDaredevilseries is concerned, this could all be a good sign for those hoping to see Bernthal’s return as Frank Castle sometime in the future.
