Ben Affleck was the original movie Daredevil, but in the cold light of 2025, he’s ready to admit he doesn’t have what it takes to tangle with Jon Bernthal’s fan-favorite portrayal of Frank Castle, the Punisher.
Speaking to YouTube channel Jake’s Takes in a double interview, Affleck and Bernthal, who co-star in The Accountant 2, discuss the differences between Affleck’s original Daredevil from the 2003 film and Charlie Cox’s current take on Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again – and one of the biggest differences, according to Affleck, is that he wouldn’t take on Bernthal’s Punisher as Cox has in the updated show.
“Well, his Punisher is good,” says Affleck. “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,” Affleck concludes. “I wish him the best, but I wouldn’t tangle with his Punisher.”
Bernthal’s Punisher plays a key role in the season finale of Daredevil: Born Again, which also sets up an upcoming Marvel Special Presentation Punisher streaming special co-written by Bernthal himself, which is expected to stream in 2026 along with Daredevil: Born Again season 2.
Looking for more Marvel? Check out our guide to how to watch the Marvel movies in order as well as what you need to know about the Marvel timeline.
