Jon Bernthal Promises “Dark” Tone For Gestating ‘Punisher Special Presentation’: “It Will Not Be Punisher-Lite”

Actor Jon Bernthal is set to make his grand return to the Frank Castle role in “Daredevil: Born Again“ after playing “The Punisher” in the original Netflix series incarnation and the Marvel antihero character landed two seasons of his own series, which leaned hard into the violent nature of the vigilante and willingness to kill.

Last month, it was revealed that Bernthal alongside director Renaldo Marcus Green (“We Own This City”) is behind a new “Special Presentation” for Disney+ that will feature Castle and the Marvel actor is promising while chatting with THR at SXSW (promoting “The Accountant 2“, check out The Playlist’s review here) in Austin, that new project will keep the dark tone “The Punisher” is known for.

READ MORE: Jon Bernthal & Reinaldo Marcus Green Officially Developing A ‘Punisher Special Presentation’ For Marvel Television

“It’s going to be dark; Frank has no interest in breaking out the darkness. It’s not going to be easy. I don’t know if that’s the Netflix tone then that’s what it’s going to be,” Bernthal added, “It will not be Punisher-lite, I promise you that.”

“I care very deeply about Frank, I’m really grateful that I’m getting the opportunity to tell the story that I think the fans deserve. We’re giving it our all and we’re trying to tell a Frank Castle story that we’re going to turn our back on the audience — it’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be light, and I think it’s the version that this character deserves, and I’m just beyond honored and grateful that we get the opportunity,” Bernthal said of his return to the Punisher role.

Detail-wise, we’re not entirely sure what the special will focus on or if other heroes will appear, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed that fan-favorite “Punisher” baddie Barracuda or The Russian (a Mtuliverse version appeared in “Deadpool & Wolverine”) could be the perfect threat to pit against Castle.

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For those keeping track, we haven’t seen a “Special Presentation” since “Werewolf By Night” from composer turned director Michael Giacchino as we saw Gael García Bernal as Jack Russell. The horror homage special, which clocked in at 54 minutes (a plausible runtime for this “Punisher” project), also introduced fans to live-action incarnations of Man-Thing and monster hunter, Elsa Bloodstone.

Again, you’ll be able to see Bernthal reprise the Castle role in “Daredevil: Born Again” soon which is exclusively on Disney+ with new episodes dropping every Tuesday.