Ever since it was announced that Jon Bernthal would be reprising his legendary role of Frank Castle, a.k.a. The Punisher, in upcoming Marvel TV show Daredevil: Born Again, fans have been excited to see him once again grace our screens... although 'grace' may not be the right word given that The Punisher is one of Marvel's most grisly characters.
It isn't just audiences who are excited to see his return though, as Bernthal's co-star Charlie Cox, who reprises his role of Matt Murdock a.k.a. Daredevil, was also thrilled to see that Castle is back.
That's because The Punisher brings out a different side of Daredevil, thanks to the similarities between the two vigilantes. As Cox said at a recent press conference which GamesRadar+ attended, when facing off against Castle his Daredevil becomes rougher.
Cox explained, also teasing that the scenes they share together in the new Disney Plus show could become legendary: "He has a couple of really great scenes, potentially iconic moments. They're an absolute joy to shoot! I feel like Jon and Charlie are very different people, but Daredevil and Frank are much more similar to one another. So, it's fun to play with that. And often when I'm in a scene as Daredevil with Frank, he pulls me closer to a Daredevil that I'm frightened of and excited by. And I think that it's written and baked in the material as well."
Although Cox says that's all "written" in the script, he added that Bernthal is a fan of improvisation, often rewriting his character lines in the moment. Reflecting on a moment from filming, Cox recalled getting a call from his co-star the night before shooting saying that he's making tweaks to the script, only then to make further changes when the cameras started rolling.
The star shared that whilst this was unexpected, Bernthal is so "brilliant" he didn't mind having to change his approach for him: "There was a scene this season, and he cares so much, he gets so into it, like thinks about it, it's almost like a pain-body. We had this scene and he called me the night before and he said 'some of these lines don't make sense for me for where I'm at, I need to mess with these a little bit. Here's what I'm gonna say, I want to say this.'"
"He just changed some of his lines, he had kinda written his own thing. So, I had to adapt and relearn my stuff, which I'm totally okay to do as he's brilliant. And then we get to set and he didn't say any of those, he just made up a whole new set of lines. And I was like, okay…!"
Bernthal and Cox aren't the only cast members returning from the Netflix shows for Daredevil: Born Again as Vincent D'Onofrio (Wilson Fisk/Kingpin), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), and Elden Henson (Foggy) are also back for another adventure in New York City.
It's not quite clear yet exactly what role Punisher will play in this story, which follows Fisk as he campaigns to become the Mayor, but consider us already seated.
Daredevil: Born Again premieres on Disney Plus on March 4th in the US, arriving the following day in the UK. Never miss an episode with our Daredevil: Born Again release schedule.
Before it starts, don't forget to check out our guide to the Marvel shows and movies to watch before Daredevil: Born Again.
