Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 just confirmed the Punisher's key role, but there's a catch. Netflix's Frank Castle actor Jon Bernthal returned for two episodes of Born Again's first season, at which point it was revealed that New York's corrupt cops had taken his legendary Punisher skull insignia as their own. He would ultimately return to help a wounded Daredevil take on these cops and Mayor Wilson Fisk's Anti-Vigilante Task-Force, only to land in a high-security prison (for now).
Born Again revealed that the Punisher had been using the manager's office inside New York's Knickerbocker Village building complex as a hideout. From there, Castle stored his arsenal, tracked potential targets on a notice board, and generally managed his operations as the Punisher.
If Born Again's cast list is to be believed, Bernthal's Punisher isn't coming back in Season 2 to join Charlie Cox's Daredevil and his anti-Fisk vigilante army. But that doesn't mean his influence won't be felt, as a newly-revealed promo showcased Matt Murdock and Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones in the Punisher's hideout.
The room is clearly identifiable by, most notably, the storage lockers and shelves behind Murdock, indicating he has been using it between Born Again seasons while Castle is either in the Red Hook Port prison or escaped and off the grid.
As Born Again's first outing left Daredevil on the run from Kingpin and forming a vigilante army, it's possible he has repurposed Punisher's hideout as his own, either for his own evasion of the AVTF or as a general base of operations.
Season 2's redesigns for the Man Without Fear and Karen Page indicated that they are very much on the run and working stealthily, making an off-the-grid base essential (although Matt may well have cleared out some of the weapons.
Providing this base will ensure that, even in his absence when Born Again returns for Season 2 on March 24, the Punisher's importance is still felt in a major way.
Why The Punisher Is Skipping Daredevil: Born Again Season 2
Unfortunately, the Punisher isn't expected to return in Born Again Season 2, likely since Frank Castle and Jon Bernthal already have a busy year ahead in the MCU thanks to Spider-Man: Brand New Day and a solo Disney+ Special Presentation.
The freshman outing left off with the Punisher locked away in Wilson Fisk's dark AVTF prison alongside other vigilantes. However, in a post-credits scene, Castle managed to lure over and knock out a guard, setting up his escape.
That was once believed to be teasing the Punisher's escape to join Daredevil's new army, which will include Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones, but it now seems like Castle will be busy taking on mob boss Ma Gnucci in his Disney+ special instead.
The TV-MA Special Presentation will stream on Disney+ "around the same time" as July's Spider-Man: Brand New Day to coincide with its release and, reportedly, set the stage for where Punisher is when his PG-13 debut begins.
As much as many would enjoy seeing Castle and Murdock share the screens again, his omission from Season 2 makes sense. Not only was Bernthal busy last year filming two other MCU projects that could overlap with Born Again, but throwing too many other heroes into the mix could risk overshadowing Daredevil.
Now that the Punisher has rejoined the MCU through Born Again, the floodgates are open for him to appear elsewhere, and the same could happen next for Jessica Jones. Thus, future seasons could continue to pair Daredevil with just one or two street-level heroes to usher the entire Netflix realm back into the fray.
