- Primary Subject: Daredevil: Born Again Season 2
- Key Update: Jon Bernthal will not appear as Frank Castle due to scheduling conflicts with his solo Disney+ special and the next Spider-Man film.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: March 24, 2026
- Quick Answer: The Punisher is absent from Season 2 because Jon Bernthal was filming a solo Punisher special and Spider-Man: Brand New Day during the production window.
Matt Murdock is assembling his own group of vigilantes to take on Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, but it looks like Frank Castle / the Punisher won't be part of it.
Vincent D’Onofrio, who plays Kingpin, has revealed why Jon Bernthal won’t appear in the second season of the Disney+ series, while teasing that fans may not have seen the last of the fan-favorite antihero.
Why isn't the Punisher in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2?
Vincent D’Onofrio responded to a fan on X after they expressed frustration over the Punisher’s absence in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.
User @ToucanTilly shared a post from @marvel_update3s revealing that Jon Bernthal would not be returning for the show’s second season.
Visibly upset, the fan questioned why the character was written out after all the effort to include him.
“There’s quite literally no reason he would leave in this current conflict??? You’re telling me Frank Castle, number one corruption hater, LEFT when Fisk was in power??” they wrote.
D’Onofrio replied, explaining that Bernthal was busy “making his own hour-long Punisher film and hanging with that insect,” referring to Spider-Man.
“We would have loved for him to join us in Season 2 for sure,” he added. “Yet he had a wonderful opportunity to work on other projects and i for one can’t wait to see him in those.”
In Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, the Punisher managed to escape Fisk’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force. While he won’t appear in the second season, his story will continue in an hour-long Disney+ special set to release later in 2026.
He will also be part of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, seemingly forming a new bond with Peter Parker, which hits theaters on July 31, 2026.
Will the Punisher Return to Daredevil: Born Again?
While the Punisher won’t appear in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, there’s still a chance for him to return in Season 3.
The series has already been renewed, and production is underway. Since the Disney+ Punisher special and Spider-Man: Brand New Day have already wrapped, Bernthal may now be free to reprise his role.
The Punisher special could tell a story that directly leads into Season 3, allowing Frank Castle to conclude his own storyline and cross paths with Matt Murdock once again.
It’s also possible that the new season will introduce fresh plot threads, such as a shared enemy that both Frank and Matt must face, or the aftermath of Kingpin’s arc that requires the Punisher’s involvement.
Finally, Frank Castle could make a cameo or play a supporting role as part of a street-level Marvel team-up, in line with the show’s “back to basics” direction.
Whatever the case, fans will surely be excited to see the Punisher return to Daredevil: Born Again.
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