Among all the exciting Spider-Man updates fans have gathered surrounding Tom Holland’s next installment, one in particular has certainly come as a shock. Following Charlie Cox’s surprise cameo as Daredevil in No Way Home (2021), another MCU star from a Netflix series will appear in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day: Jon Bernthal as The Punisher. Even though his series bowed on the streaming giant back in 2019, Frank Castle’s legacy has clearly lived on. The Punisher storyline features a number of standout characters alongside the eponymous antihero, such as the infamous Jigsaw. Also known as Billy Russo, the villain was portrayed in the Netflix show by Ben Barnes, who can now be spotted as the lead in a new series on an entirely separate streaming platform.

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The Institute is now available on MGM+, and MovieWeb recently spoke with the English actor while he was promoting his latest starring vehicle. Barnes also took time to reflect on his standout Marvel character from the world of an antihero who continues to live on through the next Spider-Man film and hopefully beyond that.
“I do think about [Jigsaw]. It’s one that people kind of bring up to me a lot, and I loved the freedom that they gave me with that character,” Barnes told MovieWeb. “Particularly in the superhero stuff, you’re kind of rooted to what people want those characters to be. With Billy Russo, he’s a slightly, sort of, not a niche character, but a slightly sort of sidelined character, you know? And I didn’t know who that character was when I was 12. And so to be able to kind of make him kind of psychologically kind of shattered was a really interesting thing.”

Ben Barnes “Would Have Loved to Have Had Another Go At” Playing Jigsaw

Netflix

Barnes continued, observing that, in the world of comic books, “no one’s really ever dead.” Meaning that, now the likes of Cox and Bernthal have been fully folded into the MCU, Barnes’ Jigsaw could one day make a comeback.
“I’m still friends with Jon Bernthal… and Charlie Cox, who’s Daredevil… But mind the fact that that I was killed off in that show — spoiler — because I would have loved to have had another go at that character. I really love playing him… But no one’s really ever dead, even though [my character] was shot about 42 times.”
As fans await potentially creative ways for the MCU to bring back Barnes as Billy Russo, the talented actor can be seen playing a more likable character in a new Stephen King small-screen adaptation. The Institute is based on his grim 2019 novel, and Barnes opened up to MovieWeb about some of his other favorite work by the renowned author that has been brought to life on screen.
“I love the prison stuff, Shawshank and The Green Mile. And then obviously, Stand By Me is such a movie classic. The Running Man, you know, in terms of like more sci-fi stuff. I’m looking forward to The Long Walk. Actually, I just watched the trailer for that movie. It looks really cool. I mean, [King is] probably the most adaptable man in the world.”
And on that note, The Institute is now streaming on MGM+.

The Punisher

Release Date

2017 – 2018

Network

Disney Channel

Showrunner

John Romita Sr.

Directors

Mark Goldblatt, Lexi Alexander

Writers

Gerry Conway

Franchise(s)

Marvel Cinematic Universe