We’re only two months away from binging the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil, which will feature Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead) as Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, an ex-military veteran determined to remove the criminal element from Hell’s Kitchen at all costs.
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Bernthal credits showrunners Doug Petrie and Marco Ramirez for crafting a “slow burn” story arc for The Punish that will see the character evolve by the end of the season. “He’s a guy who brought the war home with him [in] the worst possible way,” he told EW. “There are a lot of iterations of this character and in all of them it’s a man who’s gone through this unbelievable trauma and what’s interesting about our take on him is how this trauma reshapes his own philosophy.”
Like his comic book counterpart, the trauma that fuels his endless need for revenge comes from a tragic backstory involving the loss of his family. “But with Frank, what was important was the emptiness inside him. He’s dealing with this unbelievable loss,” he explained. “There’s unbelievable anger and hatred and shame. There’s a sense of responsibility and as a father and husband, if I were to lose my family on my watch … I had to put myself in as dark of place as possible the last six months.”
“The effect the other characters have on him will push him certain directions,” he added. “I think once you see these characters collide, it’s tremendously interesting and emotionally gripping as well. It’s going to be a special season. If you thought last season of Daredevil was dark, we’re going to a whole new place.”
Just when Matt thinks he is bringing order back to the city, new forces are rising in Hell’s Kitchen. Now the Man Without Fear must take on a new adversary in Frank Castle and face an old flame – Elektra Natchios. Bigger problems emerge when Frank Castle, a man looking for vengeance, is reborn as The Punisher, a man who takes justice into his own hands in Matt’s neighborhood. Meanwhile, Matt must balance his duty to his community as a lawyer and his dangerous life as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, facing a life-altering choice that forces him to truly understand what it means to be a hero.
Daredevil season 2 arrives on Netflix March 18, 2016.
