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Former Punisher Thomas Jane wants to direct Jon Bernthal in the MCU reboot. Jane had the starring role in 2004’s The Punisher. Prior to Jon Bernthal, fans mostly associated Jane with the Punisher.
Ironically, it wasn’t because of the film. It’s what happened later.
In 2012, Jane reprised the role in The Punisher: Dirty Laundry. The 10-minute short film went viral in YouTube’s early days. Jane’s minimalist, raw take on the Punisher wowed comic-book readers. Jane nailed Frank Castle’s pain and anger. In fact, he was so effective he inspired Jon Bernthal’s own portrayal.
Former Punisher Thomas Jane Wants To Direct Jon Bernthal In MCU Reboot
In an interview with Small Screen, Jane revealed:
I would do it as a director. I would love to make Circle Of Blood. Castle ends up in prison with everybody that he put there over the years and they all want to kill him. It’s a really great little graphic novel. Use that as the core and sort of expand it out a bit.
Specifically, the Circle of Blood trade paperback compiles the 1986 Punisher limited series. In 1986, writer Steven Grant and artist Mike Zeck collaborated on it. That five-issue story became a massive hit. Consequently, It proved to Marvel Comics that the Punisher could carry his own title.
Moreover, it influenced the grim-and-gritty trend of the ’90s. However, the Punisher didn’t achieve mainstream popularity until Jon Bernthal’s Punisher on Netflix. Although the Punisher was a comics icon, his movies didn’t scorch the box office.
Castle hasn’t appeared in a theatrical feature since 2008’s Punisher War Zone with Ray Stevenson. It bombed.
Former Punisher Thomas Jane Wants To Direct Jon Bernthal In MCU Reboot
Image: Marvel
In 2016, Jon Bernthal debuted as the Punisher in Daredevil’s second season. A year later, Netflix launched Jon Bernthal in his own Punisher series.
Marvel Studios hasn’t announced Jon Bernthal’s return as the Punisher yet. Nonetheless, on March 2, I scooped that Disney Plus won’t tone down his new Punisher show. Instead, it’ll be under a parental lock on the streamer. After all, that’s how Disney Plus broadcasts the earlier adult Netflix shows including The Punisher.
Sources haven’t indicated any discussions between Jane and Marvel Studios. Jane expressed his admiration for Jon Bernthal’s version of the Punisher. He stated:
I thought he was excellent. I love the character and I love the world. If I was directing The Punisher, I wouldn’t cast me. I did the best I could with it and all that, but he’s… I believe it. He’s Italian. He’s an Italian fighting the mob. And I think that’s important part of that. He’s olive-skinned and black-haired and hairy. He’s a beast from another dimension that I live in. We’re just different animals.
Longtime Punisher fans have longed for an adaptation of the Grant/Zeck story for decades. Perhaps Marvel Studios could consider Jane for behind the cameras.