Jon Bernthal's Punisher is set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), according to a surprising recent Instagram leak.
The apparent confirmation comes from Kasey O'Keefe, a relatively unknown actor living in Los Angeles, who recently uploaded an image of himself and Bernthal to the Meta-owned social media platform.
Normally, these types of photographs did not attract much attention. However, in the image's caption, O'Keef seemingly hints that Bernthal's Punisher has joined the Marvel movie giant. In it, O'Keefe praises Bernthal, calling him a "super actor", before writing "I look forward to working with you on Phase 5 of Marvel!"
Check out O'Keefe's Instagram post below:
Back in August, we broke the news that Bernthal wasn't ready to get his own MCU Disney Plus show or join the MCU. This report came after Rosario Dawson, who has played Claire Temple/Night Nurse in several Netflix Marvel TV series including Daredevil and The Punisher, incorrectly suggested that Bernthal's Punisher would get a standalone MCU TV series.
Though Marvel hasn't officially commented on the matter, numerous MCU insiders have claimed that Bernthal will join Charlie Cox, who played Matt Murdock/Daredevil in Netflix's Defenders-Verse, in making the jump to the MCU via Disney Plus. Cox's Murdock/Daredevil previously appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. He's also set to make a guest appearance on Echo's standalone series before getting his own show on Disney Plus, Daredevil: Born Again, in 2024.
As for the experts talking about Bernthal's comeback, Tom Smith (opens in a new tab), CanWeGetSomeToast (opens in a new tab), and MyTimeToShineHello (opens in a new tab), all of whom have decent backgrounds As far as knowledge of Bernthal is concerned, insiders at Marvel Productions have suggested that Bernthal has already signed on to reprise his iconic role in future MCU projects.
Naturally, O'Keefe's message should be taken with a grain of salt, so don't take this as confirmation that Bernthal will indeed be coming to the MCU. We've reached out to Disney and Marvel for official comment on O'Keefe's post and Bernthal's return rumors, and will update this article if we hear back.
Analysis: Where could The Punisher appear in the MCU?
Given his obvious ties to Daredevil from Netflix's various Marvel TV shows, Daredevil: Born Again seems like the most likely place for Bernthal to make his MCU debut.
The duo were two sides of the same coin in Netflix's Defenders-Verse, juxtaposing incredibly well due to their individual brands of justice and their opposing beliefs about the lengths to which vigilantes should go for revenge. Bringing them together in the first Daredevil MCU project would be a perfect opportunity to further explore this dynamic, especially with Born Again scheduled for an unprecedented 18 episodes (well, unprecedented in terms of the length of Marvel Studios' TV shows).
If not Born Again, where could The Punisher aka Frank Castle appear? Marvel's Thunderbolts movie would fit the bill perfectly, with this supergroup positioned as an anti-hero team. Castle is not a villain, nor a hero in the traditional sense, so he would be a perfect addition (not to mention a crowd-pleaser) to the Thunderbolts roster.
What about the Echo TV series too? Perhaps The Punisher makes the briefest of cameos on this show, especially if Daredevil appears in a similarly small role. This would set up an intriguing Born Again side-plot, with Murdock potentially stunned to watch Castle tour the United States in an attempt to dole out his own brand of punishment to criminals across the country.
The rest of Marvel's Phase 5 lineup, like Loki Season 2, Secret Invasion, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, are too far along in production to include The Punisher. Other Marvel movies and shows in development, including Captain America 4 and Agatha: Coven of Chaos, also don't fit its street-level design.
Our guess? If The Punisher is about to join the MCU's increasingly stacked roster, he'll definitely be in a Disney Plus series like Born Again. But we'll have to wait and see if that's really the case.
For more MCU-based content, check out everything you need to know about the latest MCU Phase 4 projects, including Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Otherwise, read where you can stream every Netflix Marvel TV show to date.
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