Jon Bernthal is going to be a busy man when 2021 rolls around, but one project that he feels particularly close to is a movie titled The Bottoms, which will deal with a bundle of drama involving family, law enforcement, and other related matters based in Shreveport, Lousiana. Bernthal, who’s no stranger to roles dealing with law enforcement in one manner or another, has apparently been itching to get this project underway, but with so much going on in the coming year it’s difficult to say just how quickly The Bottoms will be coming out. At the moment there isn’t any word on what part Bernthal will be taking in the movie, but he will be set to executive produce, act in, and co-write the script for the movie. It sounds as though this is a project that he’s been wanting to get off the ground for the past decade, or has least been working on it for that long. From one perspective it’s hard to think of why it takes so long to put a story together when the pieces are usually all there just waiting to be put together in working order. But that’s one perspective, and for many people, a story doesn’t just come together, it needs time and a lot of work to really become what it’s supposed to be.
This is usually a good idea anyway when one is as busy as Bernthal has been in the past decade since from The Walking Dead to The Punisher to the other projects he’s been a part of, he’s been a busy individual that has had a lot going on most times. To sure, he’s been rising through the ranks as his reputation has been growing in leaps and bounds over the years, first as a bad guy, then as a good guy, then as a bad guy again and so on and so forth as he’s gone along. He definitely tends to stick close to stories that deal with authority of some sort, as he was a cop in The Walking Dead, a vigilante wanted by the cops in The Punisher, and an ex-convict in Shotcaller with Nicholaj Coster-Waldau. Even in Fury with Brad Pitt and a few others, he had to follow the chain of command, so authority was still a big deal. A lot of actors find their niche when they get enough years in and get comfortable with certain roles, but one thing that it feels that Bernthal has done right is that he’s played both sides of the line and he’s done so in a manner that has been entertaining as well as different enough that people can accept him. As Shane in TWD, he was kind of a lousy friend but a decent, if ruthless, protector up until Rick finally ended him. As Shotgun in Shotcaller, he acted like a tough guy but ended up being kind of a rat that was out to save his own skin. Then in The Punisher, he was a traumatized individual with serious PTSD but a definite desire to punish those that were doing wrong.
He’s a guy that definitely sticks to a couple of major roles, but he does so in a manner that makes them interesting and he can change it up enough that one finds his act convincing since he either comes off as a strong and confident person or someone that will sell out anyone to save himself because he’s just that much of a weakling. That’s a big part of Bernthal’s appeal, his ability to change it up and keep people guessing until they finally see him on screen and figure out what he’s going to be like. Even then it’s not for certain that the character you see is going to be who’s presented throughout the rest of the story. After all, Shotgun came off as a tough guy first and foremost, but he ended up being taken out as a punk when it was discovered that he was a rat. Shane even felt like he was going to be a decent character to those that hadn’t read the Walking Dead comics, but as we all saw, he went out in a pretty undignified manner. That’s why it’s so much fun to watch Bernthal since he can keep people guessing until the character he’s playing is finally revealed. In this coming movie, it’s bound to be a bit of the same, which means we won’t know what to expect until he finally comes out with it. But one thing that’s clear, a lot of people are going to be willing to take a look since he’s been delivering in a big way over the last several years, and it’s expected that he’ll do the same this time. There’ll be more on this as it continues to develop.
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