The latest Marvel series to hit Netflix was The Punisher, which took the universe away from superpowered heroes and mystical villains to a gritty story of violence and vengeance. Deborah Ann Woll reprised her Daredevil and The Defenders character of Karen Page for The Punisher, and although she wasn't quite the star of the series, she had a prominent role that made a big impact on the narrative. CinemaBlend's own Nick Venable was able to speak with Woll about her work in Netflix's Marvel universe; when asked about the potential for a Karen-centric spinoff down the road, she had this to say:
I mean, hey, whatever else they want to do! As long as it's written well. I love the character of Karen. I think that she's really cool. I don't know quite how it fits into this superhero world with her, but hey, if you just wanted to do an investigative journalist spinoff where I take down the bad guys with my pen, I would be totally into that.
While Karen may not be one of the characters to put on a suit and take to the streets to fight crime with her fists, she's undeniably put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into fighting the good fight in New York City. The Punisher has proven that the Marvel shows on Netflix can stray from a typical superhero formula and cater to the strengths and weakness of the main character; could the same happen for Karen? Deborah Ann Woll is clearly on board with a potential spinoff, so long as it's handled well.
She does have a point that there's a large gap between an investigative journalist who uses her words to strike fear into the hearts of the corrupt and a fighter who can pummel the truth out of criminals, but perhaps a different kind of series would be a good thing for the Marvel shows on Netflix. With the exception of Iron Fist, the shows so far have been well-received, and Karen has been a significant part of both Daredevil and Defenders, although she was not quite in the spotlight as much in Defenders. A Karen-centric spinoff could mix things up in a good way.
Only time will tell. Stranger things have happened than a Marvel spinoff starring an unexpected character, and Karen showed some serious steel in her backbone in The Punisher. Even if she doesn't get a spinoff of her own at any point, we can probably count on more of her in future seasons of the other Marvel shows. Karen still has close ties to the folks on Daredevil, and her role in The Defenders gave her some connections to characters from Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones. Maybe she can lend her expertise as investigative journalist more and more frequently.
You can catch Deborah Ann Woll in action on Netflix in The Punisher, Daredevil, and Defenders. It's entirely possible that we'll see a romance between Karen and Frank at some point, which would certainly open the doors for some compelling and different stories. For what you can watch on the airwaves in the new year, take a look at our 2018 midseason TV guide.
