The Punisher News: Netflix Series Updates

After Jon Bernthal's great turn as Frank Castle on Daredevil Season 2, Netflix and Marvel Studios are ready to go all the way with The PunisherNetflix series. And with Bernthal as such a strong lead, they're going to need an equally strong villain.

There's been a curious announcement about Jon Bernthal and his "Netflix production schedule" courtesy of New York Comic Con. Apparently, something related to his Netflix Punisher duties is taking him away from NYCC for a day or two.

Here's the tweet from NYCC...

Unless this is for something promotional (or for an Agents of SHIELD guest spot, which doesn't jive with the Netflix part of that tweet), maybe he's shooting a cameo for the Netflix Iron Fist series?

The Punisher Release Date

No premiere date has been set for The Punisher Netflix series, although word out of the TCAs indicated that since Iron Fist and The Defenders are coming in 2017, we won't see things like The Punisher, Daredevil Season 3, or Jessica Jones Season 2 until 2018. However, if Netflix is already casting, then there's a chance we might see The Punisher in late 2017. As soon as we have official confirmation, we'll let you know.

A rather basic synopsis briefly surfaced on the Netflix app:

After the murder of his family, Frank Castle is both haunted and hunted. In the criminal underworld, he'll become known as The Punisher.

It's not much.

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The Punisher Cast

Ben Barnes, who recently played Sam Adams on the Sons of Liberty mini-series and will next be seen on HBO's Westworld, has reportedly joined the cast. TV Line broke the news, and while their TV scoops are pretty much always on the money, they admit that their information about the specifics of the character Mr. Barnes is playing might not be in place. But the rumor is that Barnes is playing Bobby Saint, a villain from the 2004 Punisher movie starring Thomas Jane, but that seems a little ambiguous. 

The Punisher Netflix Series Details

This is the first new series created since the initial collaboration between Marvel and Netflix was announced. The Punisher series joins Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage,Iron Fist, and Defenders. Writer/producer Steve Lightfoot (Hannibal) has been tapped as showrunner of the new series. He will also write the first two episodes.

“For me, the complexity and unpredictability of Frank Castle make him an incredibly compelling character and I couldn’t be more excited to dive into his world,” said Lightfoot. “After watching Jon’s performance in Marvel’s Daredevil I could not be more excited to be working with him to further develop and progress the story of this anti-hero in a show of his own.”

“We want to thank the fans who are clamoring for more of Jon’s stunning and powerful performance as Frank Castle from Marvel’s Daredevil,” said Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb. “Now combined with Showrunner Steve Lightfoot’s compelling writing, we’re thrilled to bring Marvel’s The Punisher to Netflix.”

Jon Bernthal was always down to explore the character more, though, telling Complexthat"For me, it's not a question of what they want to do with a character, it's more, how are they going to do it, and who's going to be the ones to do it. This character is in my bones now, he's in my blood. If they want to go forward in any way, for me it's just really going to be about making sure we do it in a way that's raw and intense. I want to push the envelope. I wanna alienate more of the audience and try to bring them back."

We'll update this with more information as it becomes available.

The Punisher Trailer

It's not really a trailer, but check out the promo Netflix used to announce the series.

The Punisher is back. Locked and loaded.https://t.co/nGKCa2taEV

— Netflix US (@netflix) April 29, 2016

A version of this article first appeared in January of 2016. It has been updated with new information since then.