“I Wouldn’t Tangle With His Punisher:” Ben Affleck Praises Jon Bernthal’s Punisher & Addresses How His Daredevil Differed From The MCU

Ben Affleck reveals whether he’s watched the MCU’s Daredevil: Born Again and suggests Jon Bernthal’s Punisher is too brutal for his Matt Murdock. Ben Affleck starred in Mark Steven Johnson’s 2003 Daredevil movie, which also featured Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Colin Farrell’s Bullseye, Michael Clarke Duncan’s Kingpin, and Jon Favreau’s Foggy Nelson. Daredevil wasn’t nearly as well-received as contemporary pre-MCU Marvel movies like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Bryan Singer’s X-Men. Twelve years later, Netflix rebooted the Man Without Fear with the 2015 Daredevil series.

In a Jake’s Takes interview promoting The Accountant 2, Ben Affleck addresses his Daredevil movie and jokes he wouldn’t mess with Jon Bernthal’s ultra-violent Punisher. Affleck takes this opportunity to praise Kevin Feige’s talent for adapting the source material to live-action since the early two thousands. Affleck admits he hasn’t seen Netflix’s Daredevil or Daredevil: Born Again, but says he “wouldn’t tangle with [Jon Bernthal’s] Punisher.” Read Affleck’s full comments:

“Well, his Punisher is good. 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. It paved the way for great actors like him to 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.”

What Ben Affleck’s Daredevil Comments Mean

Ben Affleck’s Daredevil Didn’t Get To Meet Many Marvel Characters

Ben Affleck’s Daredevil met Elektra, but didn’t get to cross paths with other street-level characters like the Punisher and Spider-Man — let alone more powerful characters like She-Hulk and Hulk, like Charlie Cox’s Daredevil did. Marvel’s 2003 Daredevil movie was released back when the idea of a cinematic universe was still in its infancy, precisely in Kevin Feige’s mind as he produced Marvel solo movies. It would take five years for the MCU to take shape, and Daredevil‘s low box office and negative reviews basically disqualified it from being part of an interconnected franchise.

A solo The Punisher movie was released in 2004, starring Thomas Jane as Frank Castle. Marvel fans theorized the Punisher appeared in Spider-Man 2 and speculated that Ben Affleck’s Daredevil, Thomas Jane’s Punisher, and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man inhabited the same universe. To this day, this theory hasn’t been officially debunked by Marvel, and the Multiverse Saga can still confirm it. In ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, Jennifer Garner’s Elektra mentions that her Daredevil died fighting Cᴀssandra Nova in the Void, alongside other heroes like Quicksilver and Magneto.

Our Take On Ben Affleck’s Daredevil Comments

Ben Affleck’s Daredevil Is Still Technically Able To Meet The Punisher


ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine posing in front of Nicolas Cage's Ghost Rider and Ben Affleck's Daredevil
Custom image by Nicolas Ayala

While a Daredevil variant was killed by Cᴀssandra Nova in the Void prior to the events of ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, Ben Affleck can still return as Daredevil in movies like Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, where he could meet Jon Bernthal’s Punisher or other Frank Castle variants. After all, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine concept art included Affleck’s Daredevil. However, Ben Affleck has said he is no longer interested in playing superheroes, so a cameo by Ben Affleck is among the least likely easter eggs in Phase 6’s crossover movies.

Source: Jake’s Takes

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