Will Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle return after the Daredevil: Born Again episode 4?

One of Daredevil: Born Again Episode 4's pivotal moments was the return of Frank Castle/The Punisher. In that scene, Matt Murdock walks into an abandoned place to meet his old client and fellow vigilante to inform him about cops using The Punisher's Totenkopf skull. Frank decries the usage of the skull, and his and Matt's conversation veers toward the latter's "retirement" as a vigilante.

The scene features some of the best acting by both of these actors as their respective Marvel characters. Frank chides Matt for retiring and letting the legal system take care of Bullseye for murdering Foggy. Matt tells Frank that neither of them could ever be as good and decent as Foggy was. After this scene, Frank is not seen again in the episode.

However, the aforementioned scene has fans wondering if we could see more of Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle in Born Again. If set photos from a year ago are to be believed, the answer to that question is yes. But for now, we don't know which episodes he will appear in or the plotlines involving those scenes.

Other than that, Bernthal's Frank Castle will indeed go beyond his appearance in Sic Semper Systemathe fourth episode of Daredevil: Born Again.

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Explaining The Punisher's role beyond Daredevil: Born Again Episode 4:

We meet Frank Castle for the first time since 2019's The Punisher Season 2, which streamed on Netflix. However, the series was canceled, and fans had to wait until last week to see Bernthal return in the role. Frank's return in Daredevil: Born Again was teased by none other than Bernthal himself in March 2024 with an Instagram post.

This tease finally paid off with last week's Born Again episode, Sic Semper Systema. However, the fourth episode is not the only one in which Bernthal is expected to appear. Set images teased a bloodied and clean-shaven Frank fighting alongside Daredevil in costume. Considering Matt has not suited up since Daredevil: Born Again's prologue in the first episode, we will likely see them team up in an upcoming episode.

Furthermore, Bernthal himself confirmed that he would return as The Punisher for a Disney+ special in the vein of Werewolf By Night (2022). He assured fans of the character regarding the special by saying:

"“I care very deeply about Frank … 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 … It’s going to be dark; Frank has no interest in breaking out the darkness … It will not be Punisher-lite, I promise you that.”

Thus, Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle does seem to have a bright future in the MCU that seems to go beyond his appearance in Born Again.

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What is Daredevil: Born Again about?

A continuation of the original Netflix series, Born Again has changed the status quo of the MCU series. Foggy Nelson loses his life in the first few minutes of the first episode, prompting Matt to retire his vigilante alter ego. A year later, Matt has moved up as a lawyer, but he must contend with Wilson Fisk becoming the new mayor of New York. However, even Fisk has some issues to resolve.

The four episodes of the series seem to be building up to a brutal confrontation between Daredevil and Wilson Fisk.

"In Marvel Television’s 'Daredevil: Born Again', Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a blind lawyer with heightened abilities, is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) pursues his own political endeavors in New York. When their past identities begin to emerge, both men find themselves on an inevitable collision course."

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Watch Frank Castle again in an upcoming episode of Daredevil: Born Again, which is streaming on Disney+.