There has been a lot of buzz and speculation about Jon Bernthal’s role as Frank Castle/The Punisher who takes a focal role on Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’ Season Two which arrives on March 18 in its entirety. As cool as it will be to see The Punisher come to life and face off with Daredevil, The Punisher is a headliner in the comics and has already had three big screen films, although none of them has been particularly successful. Even so, many pointed out that the character is certainly a big enough name that he could potentially star in his own series. Now that looks to be happening as it has been reported that Netflix is officially moving forward with a new ‘Punisher’ solo series.
Since filming began on ‘Daredevil’ Season Two, word has been that all involved have been impressed with Bernthal’s depiction of The Punisher. Bernthal, previously played the multilayered and conflicted Shane on ‘The Walking Dead’. The intensity and mentally-instability of that role seem to make him perfect for the battle-scarred Castle, so even without his episodes having been seen by the public, most fans have faith that he will do a *ahem* killer job.
Things appear to be shuffling a bit since Netflix first announced its partnership with Marvel Entertainment. Initially, it was announced that four shows would be produced, ‘Daredevil’, ‘Jessica Jones’, ‘Luke Cage’ and ‘Iron Fist’, followed by a crossover bringing all four heroes together as ‘The Defenders’. But ‘Daredevil’ proved to be such a hit that almost immediately, a second season was ordered and that season will air in just months. ‘Luke Cage’, which is currently filming, won’t arrive until this fall, sometime close to when ‘Jessica Jones’ premiered in 2015. ‘Jones’ also proved a hit, but according to showrunner Melissa Rosenberg, ‘Defenders’ has to be made within a certain timeframe per the original agreement, which she stated might delay a second helping of ‘Jessica’.
And then there’s ‘Iron Fist’ which has been plagued by rumors of delays and even cancellation, with Marvel instead possibly turning that character– who is a little more “super” than the rest– into part of its movie lineup. But things now appear to be on track with this show, which will likely to arrive in 2017.
Since ‘The Punisher’ was never part of the initial Marvel agreement, this new show may have absolutely no impact on the current plans. But there’s something to be said about striking while the iron is hot, which seems to be why ‘Daredevil’ Season Two is coming before the other two original shows. Could Netflix rush ‘The Punisher’ out to capitalize on his debut on ‘Daredevil’? And if so, will that cause delays for ‘Iron Fist’ and ‘The Defenders’ not to mention ‘Jessica Jones’ Season Two?
What do you think? Would you rather see ‘The Punisher’ before the others? What upcoming shows are you most looking forward to?
Source: Deadline