TV fans are counting down the days until Daredevil: Born Again is released on Disney Plus, seven years after the original series on the Marvel superhero was cancelled on Netflix.
The show’s highly-anticipated revival will see the return of several fan-favourite characters, including the protagonist Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), his nemesis Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio)… and anti-hero Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal).
Jon, 48, made his debut as the Punisher in the second season of Daredevil in 2016, with his powerful being hailed by viewers and critics alike before he landed his own-spin-off show on the streaming platform.
Nine years after he and Charlie, 42, last shared the screen in their comic book roles, they’re back together in the reboot – and Metro had to find out from showrunner Dario Scardapane and executive producer Sana Amanat what it was like to see the actors reunite.
They addressed how ‘electric’ the duo are when they’re on screen together – with Jon’s Frank wanting to dish out the most severe forms of punishment to those who he believes deserve it, and Charlie’s Matt running on a strict moral code despite being a masked vigilante.
‘I’d worked with Jon before, and I met Charlie before, but I hadn’t worked with him, so it’s a dream writing a scene with Frank Castle, Matt Murdock in it,’ said co-creator Dario.
‘That day was one of those, “Oh, the band’s back together. Let’s have a good time.”’
Producer Sana chimed in: ‘It was really cool just seeing them talk. Just seeing them both talk as Matt Murdock slash Daredevil, Frank Castle, Punisher… just talk on set. They’re just chatting. And I’m like, guys! It’s a big moment. It’s really exciting.’
Dario – who was a producer and writer for The Punisher – added that whether they’re in character or not, the actors have brilliant chemistry with one another.
‘Their banter is just, it’s too much fun. You wind them up, put them in a room and let them go,’ he stated.
Metro also attended a press conference ahead of the release of Daredevil: Born Again, where Charlie opened up about his reunion with Jon and sang his co-star’s praises.
‘Anything that Jon Bernthal is in, I will watch. I just think he’s such a talented actor,’ he said about the actor, who’s also appeared in TV shows including The Walking Dead and The Bear.
‘He’s got such amazing charisma and energy, and we are so fortunate to have him be part of this show.’
He added: ‘Whenever he shows up, it’s an absolute delight, both in terms of his performance and as a human. He brings such fun to the set.’
It was teased that Jon has some ‘potentially iconic moments’ as Frank coming up in a ‘couple of really great scenes’, a couple of which were in the trailer.
‘I feel like Jon and Charlie are very different people, so it’s really fun. They’re great friends,’ Kingpin star Vincent, 65, said.
Charlie remarked that while Daredevil and Punisher share some similarities, he and Jon are actually more different in real life, ‘so it’s fun to play with that’.
‘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. I think it’s baked in the material as well. I get excited to see what he’s gonna do. Hopefully we can keep having him pop up.’
Charlie then revealed that for one particular scene in Born Again, he received a call from Jon the night before shooting, with his co-star telling him that some of the lines he had in the script didn’t ‘make sense’ for him, so he wanted to play around with them.
‘He just changed some of the lines and he’d kind of written his own thing. So I had to adapt, relearn my stuff, which I’m totally happy to do because he’s brilliant,’ he recalled. ‘And then we get on the set. He didn’t say any of those lines.’
Both Jon and Frank certainly know how to keep us all on our toes!
Daredevil: Born Again premieres on Wednesday March 5 on Disney Plus.
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