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Jon Bernthal wouldn't mind putting the ol' skull logo shirt back on, as long as he has a hand in crafting the story around it.
"I'm really down to keep doing more, but I think I have to be the one that's making it," Bernthal told Esquire when asked about the Punisher's future following his appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Bernthal, who's played the Marvel vigilante since 2016, co-wrote The Punisher: One Last Kill with director Reinaldo Marcus Green. The 48-minute special is easily one of Marvel's grittiest and most violent releases, placing a PTSD-stricken Frank Castle in the center of a hyper-violent area of New York City. As he walks aimlessly, unfazed by the carnage happening around him, he's confronted by Ma Gnucci (the legendary Judith Light), who arrives to take revenge after the Punisher killed her family one by one (which was more or less warranted, given that the Gnucci family ordered the Central Park Massacre, where Frank's wife and children were killed).
The special takes place after Daredevil: Born Again season 2 and just before Spider-Man: Brand New Day, filling audiences in on what Frank's been going through and what leads to his return to vigilantism. In addition to starring and co-writing, Bernthal brought in Marine veterans as consultants to help illustrate Frank's mental state and keep the portrayal of trauma as authentic as humanly possible (H/T Entertainment Weekly). There's no word yet as to whether Frank will return for Daredevil: Born Again season 3, and he isn't part of the Defenders lineup either (as he only appeared in Netflix's Daredevil before getting his own standalone show), so there are no guarantees. However, Bernthal's comment makes me think that something else might just be in the works at Disney Plus.
The Punisher: One Last Kill is now streaming on Disney Plus. For more, read our breakdown of The Punisher: One Last Kill ending and our verdict on the special with The Punisher: One Last Kill review.
