Ben Affleck breaks silence on Jon Bernthal’s punisher in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

Ben Affleck is excited to team up again with Jon Bernthal for The Accountant 2, but when it comes to Bernthal’s Daredevil character, the Punisher, Affleck is more than happy to sit that one out.

In a recent chat with CinemaBlend, Affleck opened up about Marvel’s evolution and his feelings toward the latest installment, Daredevil: Born Again, where Bernthal reprises his role as the brooding vigilante.

“Well, his Punisher is good,” Affleck admitted.

“Daredevil was an interesting story. It was before Kevin Feige had stepped into the role of running Marvel. He imposed a kind of clarity of tone across those movies that sort of figured out the trickiest thing, which is, ‘How do you balance a movie where you got people wearing pajamas and have superpowers, and how seriously you take it, and how much humor is in it, and how much you wink at the audience, and what does the action have to look like?’ It coincided with visual effects getting to a place where it could look really convincing.”

Affleck, who once wore Daredevil’s red suit back in 2003, reflected on how Marvel eventually cracked the code for superhero storytelling, giving serious actors like Bernthal a chance to shine.

But when it comes to stepping into Bernthal’s violent world of Frank Castle, Affleck isn’t looking to pick that fight anytime soon.

He added with a laugh, “It made the way for great actors like him to step in and really get it done. There’s a new Daredevil, I haven’t seen it yet, but I certainly love the character, I wish him the best, but I wouldn’t tangle with his Punisher.”

Since Affleck’s turn as the blind lawyer-turned-hero, Daredevil found a second life as a gritty Netflix series from 2015 to 2018, and now it’s back in action with Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+.

But even with the reboot in full swing, it’s clear that Affleck is more focused on accountant assassins than clashing with Bernthal’s no-mercy Punisher.