Daredevil and The Punisher sure do keep each other on their toes, and when it comes to Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again, it sounds like the actors who play them- Charlie Cox and Jon Bernthal, respectively- do that too. Ahead of the upcoming Marvel show’s premiere on March 4, the Matt Murdock actor proved that by explaining how his co-star was rewriting lines right before they started shooting. I have to say, this sounds brilliant and stressful.
We’ve known for a while now that Jon Bernthal would return as The Punisher in Born Again. However, the impact he’ll have on the story is still unknown. While those specifics remain hidden, we do know the actor behind Frank Castle had quite the impact on set, as Cox recalled a phone call he received from him about re-working a scene during a press conference that our sister site, GamesRadar, attended:
There was a scene this season, and he cares so much, he gets so into it, like thinks about it, it's almost like a pain-body. We had this scene and he called me the night before and he said 'some of these lines don't make sense for me for where I'm at, I need to mess with these a little bit. Here's what I'm gonna say, I want to say this.'
Cox explained that he was thrilled to have Bernthal in the Born Again cast and that he loves filming with him. So, witnessing the actor improvising and coming up with his lines and actions sounds like loads of fun. However, as this story went on, it also seemed kind of stressful as the Daredevil star recalled what happened when his co-star showed up on set after that call:
He just changed some of his lines, he had kinda written his own thing. So, I had to adapt and relearn my stuff, which I'm totally okay to do as he's brilliant. And then we get to set and he didn't say any of those, he just made up a whole new set of lines. And I was like, okay…!
Considering Cox and Bernthal have been playing Daredevil and The Punisher for a long time, I’d trust them to know what’s right for the characters. Therefore, working on scenes in a loose way like this sounds fun. However, there’s also part of me that would panic a smidge if I didn’t know what my co-star was about to do.
Clearly, though, Charlie Cox was loving his work with The Bear actor, as he spoke very highly of him and his moments in the series that’s about to premiere on the 2025 TV schedule. While the Matt Murdock actor didn’t give away specifics, he did tease how iconic Bernthal’s arc is this season, saying:
He has a couple of really great scenes, potentially iconic moments. They're an absolute joy to shoot! I feel like Jon and Charlie are very different people, but Daredevil and Frank are much more similar to one another. So, it's fun to play with that. And often when I'm in a scene as Daredevil with Frank, he pulls me closer to a Daredevil that I'm frightened of and excited by. And I think that it's written and baked in the material as well.
Being a fan of the OG Netflix shows and the chemistry between Cox and Bernthal’s characters, this comment excites me to no end. However, also knowing that they were improvising and working well together on set thrills me even more, because it probably means Frank and Matt’s reunion will be meaningful, action-packed and, as the Daredevil actor said, “potentially iconic.”
Well, it sounds like we’re in for a wild ride when it comes to Matt and Frank’s story this season. Plus, overall, Daredevil: Born Again has received great reactions from fans who saw it early, meaning we better have those Disney+ subscriptions ready. I don’t think we’re going to want to miss anything in this highly anticipated return to Hell’s Kitchen.
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