Mild spoilers below for Daredeil: Born Again’s latest episode for anyone who hasn’t yet streamed it with a Disney+ subscription.
The world finally seems settled again, or perhaps the complete opposite, now that Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle is officially back in our lives thanks to Daredevil: Born Again. The fan-favorite vigilante made his long-awaited return to the 2025 TV schedule, which marks his first full-on MCU appearance. Having turned down an earlier request to return ahead of the Disney+ series’ creative restructuring, Bernthal welcomed the chance to bring his own personal touch to the character, and explained a key difference between Frank and Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock.
From the outside, Frank and Matt are obviously very different characters, despite sharing quite a few similarities by way of costume-enhanced vengeance. And even though their core goals can often align, Bernthal addressed how the two characters’ mindsets differ, even when they're aiming in the same direction. And even when one might not necessarily want to think like the other. Here's what he told EW:
There's a little bit of Frank in all of us; I genuinely believe that. Like that line, 'We're all one bad day away from being me.' I think that Frank is seeing himself in Matt, and Matt knows that he's seeing Frank in himself, and there's a glee in that.
For all that Charlie Cox's law-defending attorney can believe himself to be a fully balanced artiber of justice, I believe we all know that Matt is more than guilty of letting his frazzled emotions guide his actions. Especially when they're in response to something tragic, such as Foggy getting assassinated right in front of him. And it sounds like Frank low-key delights in being a dark inspiration for the golden boy.
But here's where Bernthal lays out the key difference between them, even when it seems like Matt has fully gone into Punisher mode. As he put it:
But also, Frank really has no time for the gray. He has no time for figuring things out or obsessing over things. Frank really believes that the back and forth and the twisting and turning that Matt does is antithetical from his truth, and he knows it. For Frank, there's nothing like having that bit of wisdom over Matt and torturing him about it because he knows that he's right.
While Matt may eventually arrive at the decision to drop his stricter morals and go buck on those who stand against him, that decision is almost never going to happen in a split-second the way it would with Frank. With his religious and litigious foundations, he's largely unable to approach a problem without considering the ramifications for both his corporeal form and his soul.
On the flip side, Frank could very well raze an entire field just to kill a single mouse, and all without a single second of preplanning or look-ahead consideration. If the goal is to kill the mouse, Frank is going to get the job done, while Matt may have deeper reservations that hold him back.
What's more, as Bernthal puts it, Matt is fully aware of this distinction between them, and is bothered by it, while Frank has no issues with letting his instincts run things. And by "run things," I of course mean "shoot everyone's kneecaps and split someone's elbows in half." Frank doesn's fuck around with bendable joints.
Frank and Matt's somewhat parallel ideaologies came up during Daredevil: Born Again's fourth episode, "Sic Semper Systema," as the Man Without Fear interrogated his rival-turned-friend about the skull-marked bullet casing found near Ayala's body. And it was indeed a joy to see them share the screen again, even if they weren't immediately going to town on bad guys' faces.
One can only hope that Jon Bernthal & Co. find a way to bring Charlie Cox's hero into the fold for the upcoming Marvel Special Presentation for The Punisher that was announced in February. Not that any of these actors have much free time on their hands, as Born Again Season 2 is currently in production.
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