Marvel Already Set Up Punisher's MCU Future After Daredevil: Born Again

While The Punisher is returning to the MCU in the Daredevil: Born Again series, Frank Castle's future afterward may have already been teased. Having begun his crusade against criminals in earnest, The Punisher was offered a job in the final scene of Netflix's The Punisher season 2. As such, it's possible that Frank Castle may soon a brand-new roster of antiheroes in the MCU.

With the news that Jon Bernthal will reprise his role as The Punisher in Daredevil: Born Again coming to Disney+, it's fair to assume Frank Castle's preexisting history and origins from Netflix's Daredevil season 2 and his spin-off series will still be considered canon. Likewise, the same will hopefully be true for Daredevil (played by Charlie Cox) and Kingpin (Vincent D'onofrio). Keeping that in mind, the ending of The Punisher season 2 could be used to set up Frank Castle's future following his appearance in Daredevil: Born Again via a teased relationship with the CIA.

The CIA Wanted To Recruit The Punisher

Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle In Punisher Season 2 Ending

Throughout The Punisher, Castle had regular interactions with Dinah Madani, a Homeland Security agent investigating The Punisher in connection with her partner's death in the nation of Kandahar. However, it became apparent that both Madani and Castle lost loved ones due to the illegal Operation Cerberus and its aftermath. Castle and Madani eventually ed forces to bring down William Rawlins, aka Agent Orange, the CIA's Director of Covert Operations and architect behind Cerberus. They also worked to take down Billy Russo, Castle's former fellow Marine, who still worked for Orange even after he orchestrated the murders of Castle and his family (which Castle survived).

Following Orange's execution and Russo's hospitalization at the end of The Punisher season 1, the second season saw Madani requesting Castle's help to track down Russo who'd escaped, becoming the villain Jigsaw. Following The Punisher's successful termination of his former-friend-turned foe, the final scene of The Punisher season 2 saw Madani having ed the CIA a few months later. Having the freedom to do so, Madani tried recruiting The Punisher to take out a high-profile target. While Castle turned her down for that particular job, it's likely The Punisher would have had an ongoing relationship with Madani and the CIA had the series continued with a third season.

Is The Punisher Being Set Up To The MCU's Thunderbolts?

This final scene of The Punisher season 2 is rather interesting considering the reveal in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever that Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is the Director of the CIA. Currently, Val has been recruiting anti-heroes in the MCU such as Falcon and the Winter Soldier's U.S.Agent and Black Widow's Yelena Belova, sister to Natasha Romanov and a Black Widow herself. Also, 2022's Marvel Studios at D23 revealed that Val is indeed building toward a full team in 2024's Thunderbolts which will also feature Ghost, Red Guardian, and Bucky Barnes' Winter Soldier as their leader.

However, that's not to say that the team won't have more or even future variations of the roster in the MCU. As such, the Thunderbolts essentially being a covert super team for the CIA makes them perfect for The Punisher following his appearance in Daredevil: Born Again. Having a preexisting relationship with the CIA through Agent Madani, there's already a logical president for making The Punisher a potential addition to the team.