Ever since Walking Dead vet Jon Bernthal was cast to portray Frank Castle in Netflix's Daredevil, fans immediately clamored for a standalone Punisher series, even though he hadn't even filmed anything yet. The fervor only grew after Daredevil Season 2 hit, and Netflix thankfully didn't wait years to order up an initial season of The Punisher. While some footage was released for those lucky enough to be at Comic-Con this year -- read my thoughts about said footage -- Netflix had yet to release an actual trailer. Until now!
First things first here. How did you guys like it? It's basically everything I wanted from a Punisher trailer, as it's somehow more brooding than Daredevil, and relies not on superpowers and unbreakable skin to sell its central character's badassery, but rather on bullets and the unending quest for revenge. And amazingly enough, it's all done while showing Frank's face for around 5 total seconds. Of course, as hardcore as his concrete scowl is, it's what's inside his head that people should be nervous about.
Not people like the fans, obviously, since we probably don't need to be nervous about anything. But for all those people in that trailer, particularly the ski-masked guy who shot his wife, Frank Castle is going to be a worst nightmare beyond all others. Seriously, those guttural howls he lets out while bringing the sledgehammer down should be enough to make criminals kneel at his front door in a sign of surrender.
While the proto-Punisher that we meet in Daredevil Season 2 wasn't the most calm and collected person walking the rooftops of Hell's Kitchen and beyond, that Frank was at least in control of most of his anger. But this trailer gives us one brief but pretty terrifying moment just after we see Frank tied up and beaten, where he's in military garb and going off. I can't wait to see that kind of unbridled rage showing up in Netflix's Marvel shows.
And while it's not obvious at first what the sledgehammer stuff is all about, we get to see at the end what Frank was carving out during that time. And what could be more wonderful?
Strangely enough, this trailer wasn't exactly a wide release, as it actually premiered as the post-credits scene for Netflix's The Defenders, which released earlier today. The Punisher doesn't have a release date set just yet at Netflix, but we can probably expect one soon, although it would be nice to get a better look at all the actual cast members in their roles first.
In the meantime, our 2017 Netflix schedule will show you what else is heading to the streaming service soon, and our summer TV guide and our fall premiere schedule will hook you up with everything coming to the small screen beyond Netflix.
