Marvel Television is no more, and that's left the status of shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Daredevil somewhat up in the air. There's been talk of "soft reboots" that will bring actors like Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio back as new Variants of the same characters, and that does seem like the best possible way for Marvel Studios to avoid unnecessary baggage.
There are a lot of heroes and villains from those shows that fans would like to see brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle/The Punisher is quite easily near the top of the list.
Recently, Forbes spoke to The Punisher star, who said that as anxious as he is to play Frank Castle again, there are certain elements of the character he wouldn't want to say goodbye to. "As far as going on in the future, it’s a character that I really feel like I have sort of in my bones and in my heart," Bernthal said. "I’m really grateful that I had the opportunity, and what sort of happens in the future isn’t about whether they want to do it or not again."
"I don’t really prescribe anything to those kinds of decisions. It’s just about, if they do do it, are we gonna be able to do it right? Is it gonna be dark enough? Is it gonna be gritty enough? Are we gonna give the fans, and the folks that this character means so much to, are we gonna give them what they deserve? And if the answer is yes, man oh man, I would love that."
The MCU's Punisher probably wouldn't be R-Rated, but there are still ways to do the character justice in a PG-13 enviroment. There are plenty of upcoming movies and TV shows Frank could make his presence felt in, but it's ultimately going to hinge on how interested Kevin Feige is in the anti-hero.
Check out what Bernthal had to tell us about a possible Punisher return in the video below: