Spoilers ahead for Season 2 of Daredevil.
One of the most successful aspects of Netflix’s Daredevil Season 2 was the introduction of more vigilantes and general badasses. Helping out (and sometimes opposing) the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen where his old flame and assassin Elektra, as well as trigger-happy Frank Castle aka The Punisher. The latter, played by The Walking Dead alumnus Jon Bernthal, quickly became the scene stealer of Season 2, with fans actually taking the side of the murderous weapons expert. Now it appears that Netflix and Marvel have heard this reaction, and are taking a big step forward to give more Punisher to the people.
Netflix has just announced that The Punisher has been officially ordered as a spinoff to Daredevil on the streaming service. The new series will mark the sixth overall Marvel series, in addition to the previously announced four shows which will culminate into the Defenders miniseries.
Jon Bernthal will reprise his role as the captivatingly conflicted Frank Castle, as he begins his vigilante career as The Punisher in Hell’s Kitchen. The Daredevil finale saw Castle briefly donning The Punisher costume and saving Daredevil’s life during the final conflict with The Hand. Steve Lightfoot, who is best known for his work as an EP for Hannibal, will be the The Punisher's showrunner.
This announcement, which comes to us from EW, is a first for Netflix’s Marvel series. The original four series, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, had been planned since the beginning. These four characters make up the team The Defenders, which will be Netflix’s answer to the The Avengers. Although Luke Cage was a major character in Jessica Jones, his series wasn’t technically a spinoff, as it had already been planned. This newly announced Punisher series is the first time that Marvel/Netflix has changed the game-plan and created something new based on the fans and critical response.
Rumors regarding a Punisher spinoff have been circulating since before Daredevil Season 2 was even released. Everyone involved seemed to be thoroughly impressed with Jon Bernthal’s performance as Frank Castle, and reports that a spinoff was in the works made their way into the internet. In fact, Marvel’s VP addressed these rumors, stating that nothing concrete was happening, although some discussions had been had. It looks like those discussions went well, and we’re about to get more guns and glory moving forward.
While fans of Daredevil must be thrilled to see more of Frank Castle in the future, I have to wonder how this will affect the overall MCU moving forward. Specifically, will The Punisher be included in The Defenders miniseries? Considering that the other four heroes will likely be facing a big threat to New York as a whole, it sounds to reason that Daredevil might be calling in all the troops he can. The Punisher has shown himself to be extremely deadly and arguable more capable than the likes of the super powered Jessica Jones. Plus fans will likely be upset if The Punisher is excluded from all the fun.
Are you excited for the upcoming Punisher spinoff? Sound off in the comments below.
