Jon Bernthal on ‘The Punisher’ Cancellation: “You’ve Gotta Be Grateful for What You’ve Got”

Netflix in February pulled the trigger on The Punisher, cancelling the fan-favorite Marvel Comics-inspired series after just two seasons, but star Jon Bernthal says you’ve “gotta be grateful for what you got.”

“The way this business is, you fall in love with something, and they take it from you,” Bernthal’s co-star Josh Stewart, who played one-off villain John Pilgrim, said at Fan Fest Chicago, appearing alongside Bernthal and Jason R. Moore.

“You know what I mean? So it’s just the nature of it, it’s the cycle of it. It sucks, but what can you do?”

“I think that’s right. I think in this business, you gotta be grateful for what you got, that you had the opportunity to do it, you had an opportunity to work with people you love and respect. And you gotta kinda leave it at that,” Bernthal said.

“A lot of these decisions about what goes out there, those decisions happen in rooms that we’re definitely not invited to [laughs]. And the cool thing about the way stuff is now, it’s not going anywhere, it’s right there on Netflix. It’s there forever.”

Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb previously told EW “the television studio will always be beholden to our networks,” a statement later backed by Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, who told The Insider Netflix’s Marvel shows “are for us to cancel.”

The streamer first dropped Iron Fist before cancelling Luke Cage, Daredevil, Punisher, and finally Jessica Jones, the Krysten Ritter-led series that has yet to premiere its in-the-can third season.

Fans are hopeful the Disney-owned characters could live on through Hulu, of which Disney owns a controlling interest, or Disney+, the company’s coming streaming service set to host such Marvel Cinematic Universe-set series as WandaVision and The Falcon & The Winter Soldier.

Disney direct-to-consumer and international division chairman Kevin Mayer, who oversees Disney+, previously told THR the “very high-quality” shows could potentially live on under Disney: “We haven’t yet discussed that,” he said, “but I would say that’s a possibility.”

Bernthal previously said he was “at peace” with the situation, despite heavily investing himself in his role as battered vigilante Frank Castle.

“I really only worry about the things I can control,” Bernthal told Variety.

“When I’m playing the character and I’m doing the job and it’s right there in front of me, I do whatever I can to make it as good as I can. But in this business there’s so much we can’t control. Whatever is happening with these shows, these decisions are being made in rooms I’m not invited into and I’m OK with that.”

Both seasons of The Punisher remain available for streaming on Netflix.

—–

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com, yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we break down the trailers for Dark Phoenix and Child’s Play, talk Halo casting, and so much more! Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode!