Jon Bernthal Claims We Have Not Seen The Real Frank Castle Punisher Just Yet

During a recent appearance at Salt Lake City Comic Con, Jon Bernthal was able to talk to some fans during a Q&A session about the upcoming ‘The Punisher’ series on Netflix, namely, about whether or not Frank Castle had fully completed his transformation into the vigilante from the comics by the time the series starts:

“The way I look at it is that his time in the military is sort of separate. The character that was in Daredevil season two, that wasn’t the Punisher to me.That was a man that this traumatic event – he’s still reeling from that. Everything in his life has been a reaction to that. He’s not a guy looking to rid the criminal element of Hell’s Kitchen; He could care less about that. He’s not about that.”

While speaking to Entertainment Weekly recently, Bernthal said that during ‘The Punisher’ series Castle’s goal is very different from his mission during ‘Daredevil’ Season 2, where he just wanted to kill everyone involved in the death of his family:

“What do you do when that’s over? What do you find out about yourself when you realize there’s nothing left? What is his purpose?’ There’s an introspective bent in trying to figure that out. He finds something to fight for, something new to believe in…During this show, nobody is who they appear to be… This season is much darker as it goes, it gets darker and darker and more visceral. The show takes you on this journey of Frank becoming more and more human again and then shutting off and shutting off and going back to what works for him, and the place where he kind of belongs, and I think that’s a place of solitude and of darkness and destruction. It’s going to get into as dark and as brutal a place as you’ve ever seen in the Marvel world, I can promise you that.”

Which all makes sense, the Netflix corner of the MCU has long touted that their shows have been all about the origins of these characters and getting them to the place where they become the heroes they are in the comics, hence the lack of costumes and the grittier, more down the earth tone. And for a character as complicated as Frank Castle, it would be kind of strange to have him jump straight into being the bad-ass, no prisoner taking Punisher from the comics without seeing what he went through to become that man. Some might even argue that the events that made him the Punisher might be more interesting than the adventures he later has as the Punisher.

What are your thoughts on Castle’s journey into becoming the Punisher, which Netflix is priming us to see at some point this year? (Man I wish they would just give us a premiere date!) How much darker do you think we’ll see Frank Castle get? Check out the new promo/ motion poster below, and feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the series in the comments below that!