In Daredevil: Born Again's season 1 finale, The Punisher returns and helps the Man Without Fear fend off an attack from Mayor Fisk's Anti-Vigilante Task Force. What followed was a brutal, unforgiving battle.
Matt Murdock plays two roles in the fight; as well as squaring off with Fisk's dirty cops, the vigilante does what he can to stop Frank Castle from murdering them in cold blood. After all, "Red" has a code to live by.
Talking to Variety, Daredevil: Born Again co-director Aaron Moorhead said, "You could call it a team-up, but you’ll notice that they’re not actually doing teamwork because there’s a bit of a philosophical problem between them."
Fellow co-director Justin Benson added, "Despite the fact that we’re doing this philosophy of kill, don’t kill, that does not translate into cool fight, uncool fight. That’s some of the coolest fighting I’ve ever seen Daredevil do. It’s fun to watch. I mean, it still looks human, it still looks grounded, but he’s getting so gangster with that baton and the wire. It’s so refreshing to see him fighting like that."
"Watching the violence isn’t supposed to be fun, it’s supposed to make you feel a little sick," Moorhead pointed out. "And same thing with the music, even. The music isn’t this heroic thing, it feels like there’s something a little wrong happening here."
"And it’s because the soul of the scene is in Daredevil’s perspective, which is, 'What he’s doing is wrong.' He’s going through the scene in a way that makes him feel comfortable, which is this giant lead pipe putting people in the hospital for life but not killing them. And his choreography is a little less brutal, a little more...where he sees a path through everybody."
Philip Silvera, action director and supervising stunt coordinator, was also on hand for an interview featuring insights from the creative team and lead star Charlie Cox.
"We play with how each one of them interacts," Silvera said. "Jon’s character, Punisher, is not afraid to kill. Charlie’s character isn’t afraid to save people by maiming them. It comes from the severity of what’s happening in the moment and what he would do to them. If he’s interrogating somebody, it’s different. If you’re trying to hurt someone he loves and he goes to this emotion of rage, that’s very different."
Daredevil's team-up with The Punisher was part of the show's new finale (the first, penultimate, and final episodes were all rewritten during the creative overhaul). They ultimately went their separate ways, with Frank captured by the AVTF and imprisoned by Fisk.
In a post-credits scene, he escaped in time for an upcoming Special Presentation. Rumours also persist that the character will appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The Daredevil: Born Again creative team are discussing the show again because Disney and Marvel Studios have mounted a robust "FYC" campaign for the Emmys. The series is being put forward in 23 categories.
A TV spot has been released promoting that, and it features praise for the Disney+ series from outlets like Variety, IGN, NME...and ComicBookMovie.com! Watch it below, along with the full Daredevil: Born Again interview.