Netflix just announced that The Punisher, an offshoot of Marvil’s Daredevil starring The Walking Dead alum Jon Bernthal, is getting a series order.
The Punisher is back. Locked and loaded.https://t.co/nGKCa2taEV
— Netflix US (@netflix) April 29, 2016
The antihero character of The Punisher, a subject of several failed attempts at launching a film franchise around him, was introduced in the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil, which premiered on March 18. The streaming service had been working on the potential spinoff for several months.
The Punisher is Netflix’s sixth Marvel TV series. Following the successful launches of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, production is underway on Luke Cage for a September 20 premiere, with Iron Fist and The Defenders, a crossover miniseries featuring all main characters, also in the works.
First appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man #129, The Punisher is the alter ego of military veteran Frank Castle, who wages a one-man war against crime after his wife and children are killed during a shootout by rival mob outfits. The character’s belief in killing criminals rather than apprehending them frequently puts him at odds with Marvel’s traditional heroes, a theme that is at the center of Daredevil Season 2.
Three The Punisher feature films have been produced – a 1989 DTV pic starring Dolph Lundgren; a 2004 film starring Thomas Jane; and 2008’s R-rated Punisher: War Zone starring Ray Stevenson. At New York Comic Con in October, Bernthal acknowledged the pressure from fans to get it right, calling the Punisher “an iconic character who people care an enormous amount about,” he said. “I know a lot of people really want us to get this right.” As a possible indication of his approach, he discussed how The Punisher resonates strongly with military and law enforcement.
Marvel TV is repped by CAA.
I couldn’t be happier… I wasn’t too keen on Jon Bernthal being cast – left me feeling rather meh. Then I saw what he did with it and was blown away. I expected another Shane from the Walkig Dead but he took it an entirely different direction and loved every second he was on the screen. Fantastic news!
ONE BATCH. TWO BATCH. PENNY & DIME.
Love this. I too was worried he would be too much Shane. In a way he was but it worked so well. Perfect casting, again. I still want to see a punisher cameo in Spider-Man though.
He was better than Daredevil.
Bernthal is an amazing actor. I couldn’t believe he was in the HBO drama Show Me a Hero when I saw him in the credits, then realizes he was playing the nebbishy Jewish civil rights lawyer – not a role I would have ever anticipated for him – he can basically do anything. He’s not one of these actors who just plays the same character in every role.
Same here. Like Vincent D’onofrio’s Kingpin, he gave the role a dimension the comics lack, while preserving what makes the character so popular.
Netflix saved punisher. Thank you.
Awesome, I’ve waited years for this to happen. Jon was the MVP of Daredevil S2 so I pretty much thought this was a lock. Thanks Netflix, hope it turns out great.
Good. Let’s hope they get better writers. Season 2 of Daredevil was terrible.
I semi-agree, the writing needed work this last season. Punisher & Kingpin saved the show from being a complete mess.
The villains are Daredevil’s saving grace. Those two actors just dominate every scene. Maybe they should get their own buddy comedy series!
Well, that, and whoever it is that stands in for Charlie Cox in the fight scenes. They are superb.
Agree one hundred percent. I found myself wanting to fast forward all the parts when Foggy Nelson was on my screen and sometimes even when Charlie Cox was too just to see what the Punisher and Kingpin were doing.
So The Punisher after being in just one season of DD has a spin-off in works because showrunners saw that audience loves him, while Root from Person of Interest who’s just as awesome and deadly character after being in almost 3 seasons of POI might just die in series finale just because J. Nolan wants it for the sake of the drama? Why can’t a cool tall dark female anti-hero character have her own show too? Please ask Nolan about it?
At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Elektra get her own spin off. Would that fit the bill?
The Elektra story line did little for me. It felt rushed.
Because CBS isn’t in the business of tall dark female anti-hero shows. They’re not even in the Person of Interest business anymore.
I AM SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS. Jon Bernthal was the best version of Punisher I have ever seen.
no one should be surprised.
as i’ve said before, DD S2 was the best punisher movie yet!
First mission: assassinate or pluck off every cast member of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.
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Coat
1. Frank’s only just started out in this universe, he’s not gonna be targetting the big leagues for a while.
2. Frank probably has little reason to go after the main cast, as most of them aren’t evil. To quote the Rhino, “Frank, you punish the guilty. Not the stupid.”
Sorry this should have been better rephrased as: PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL, Entry Season One: eradicate every b-list actor off the face of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD earth.
OK, now I feel better.
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Coat
We should also can the entire cast of Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, Gotham & Heroes Of Tomorrow. They’re all b-list actors too
You’re wrong. And it’s ‘Legends of Tomorrow’, you idiot.
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Coat
And Frank’d probably look at you like a crazy person before blowing your brains out for commissioning something so unnecessary, petty, and irrelevant.
Hey pulsor93, why don’t you grow a backbone and stop hiding behind a lame pseudonym before blowing it out your own ass?
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Coat
What’s the big deal about me arguing that Frank would see little reason to try to kill some actors?
To quote Rhino, “Frank, you punish the guilty. Not the stupid.”
As for my username, I’ve used it a lot in my life, and grown comfortable with it. It’s easy for me to remember.
I dunno, maybe it’s because people with fake monikers don’t recognize satire when they see it, whereas, I post under my real name because it shows that an actual real life who’s worked under many hats in this town can own up to his own comment. So shut up and the let experts play and go crawl back under the Drudge Report rock you that came from.
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Coat
Fair enough.
Daisy aka quake will rip his testicles through his spin. He don’t want none
this will be bad and lame like disney marvels other series’, just like the bad star wars remake as well
Bad like the other Marvel Netflix series that are actually good?
Bad like Batman V Superman, Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, Gotham & Heroes Of Tomorrow? That crap is as lame as anything else out right now. Lame, waste of time garbage. Just like everything DC does & has ever done–Garbage!!
Make Mine MARVEL & make yours Latrine Spillover!!
As a Marvel Man from way back, I admire your loyalty. But…gotta disagree. While Arrow and The Flash are not masterpieces, they’re entertaining and well crafted.
I love The Punisher but the fact that this character “resonates strongly with military and law enforcement” is troubling. He’s a vigilante who uses excessive force, kills-but-never-captures, and doesn’t answer to anyone. Doesn’t he also live off the cash he seizes from these criminals? I’ve been a Punisher fan since the 80s but I’d never consider him a role model for anyone who wears the uniform.
I would posit that one reason the character resonates so strongly with military and law enforcement personnel is that, as people who see the ugliest horrors humanity can inflict on itself but have to follow hard rules and procedures and try to hold onto their own humanity, part of them can appreciate the idea of a character who does what they can’t allow themselves to do. For all the unimaginable personal hell Frank Castle lives in, there’s a certain liberation in the idea of being stripped of those moral and ethical restraints and dealing with the worst criminal element with a predator’s purity. It’s only human to wish to see the predators become the prey.
That’s certainly not the ONLY reason the character might resonate, it’s also sadly only human for him to resonate in exactly the way you find disturbing. But I can see how that resonance can also underscore the kind of strength and commitment it takes to only see the character as escapism and not become like him.
I wish more comments made this much sense.
Great! Punisher/Frank Castle was my favorite part of season 2. I wonder if DD will guest star or if they’ll bring in a whole new group of supporting characters/co-stars.
How about DD season 3 news?
Interesting how some people thought that Jon Bernthal would be like Shane, and didn’t recognize that Shane was a comic book character (much like Frank Castle) fleshed out by a solid actor. If Bernthal had been doing a “Shane” impression his whole career, I’d understand. I assume those that thought that now recognize what a good actor Bernthal is…and how well he broke through any possible Walking Dead typecasting.
I am wondering how this will work as a series. Frank Castle doesn’t deal in nuance. He is a sledgehammer. This worked brilliantly as a supporting character, but as the main protagonist , it will require something altogether different. Nevertheless, this is exciting news. Netflix is creating some marvelous original programming, and this latest Netflix/Marvel news will likely be no exception.
I guess I am in the minority. I like The Punisher but I felt that he distracted from the main characters in Daredevil. Hopefully he will not be in Daredevil Season 3. He can stick to his own series, which I will watch btw.
I’ve gotten bored with Netflix, but as long as they keep coming up with these gritty Marvel originals, I’ll keep my subscription.
Jon Bernthal is perfect as the Punisher, I’ll definitely watch this series even though all of this Marvel junk has reached its oversaturation point.
This is awesome news! Jon Bernthal is THE definitive Punisher hands down!