Criminals and delinquents of Hell’s Kitchen, beware: Frank Castle will return. Just over a month after making his small-screen debut on season 2 of Daredevil, Netflix have announced that Marvel’s The Punisher is to get his very own show.
Jon Bernthal, whose performance in Daredevil won praise from both critics and fans, will reprise his role as Frank Castle, the soldier-turned-vigilante who dishes out a violent form of justice on the streets of New York..
Netflix announced the series with a 25-second teaser trailer, posted to their official Twitter feed.
Steve Lightfoot, best known for his work on NBC’s Hannibal (as well as a stint on BBC One’s Saturday night staple Casualty) has been recruited as showrunner, serving as a writer and executive producer.
This will be the sixth Marvel show to arrive on Netflix’s streaming platform, following *Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Adaptations of Luke Cage, Iron Fist and The Defenders are currently in development.
There’s no word on whether Frank Castle will show up in The Defenders (essentially the street-level version of The Avengers), but he is almost certain to make a cameo appearance.
Frank Castle has had something of a chequered history on the big screen, to put it generously, with three actors (Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson) failing to make much headway.
But his unique brand of anti-heroism – first debuting in a 1974 Marvel comic – has remained popular with fans. We look forward to seeing what Bernthal (and Netflix’s well of money) can do with the character.
Read our complete history of The Punisher, from comics to screen.