Deadline is reporting today that Netflix will be giving Jon Bernthal his own spinoff show focused on The Punisher, a character who will make his first appearance in season 2 of Daredevil before going on to headline his own series. Further details are non-existent at this point, but this is huge news.
For one, fans have been waiting to see the character appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after his appearance in a couple of ill-fated films didn’t really lead to anything substantial. So, when we heard that he’d be showing up on Daredevil, it was music to our ears.
Now, he’ll be getting his own spinoff series, and on Netflix no less, meaning that we’ll hopefully see the dark and gritty version of Frank Castle that we all know and love. Sure, it may not be a big screen outing, but having The Punisher play around in a more grounded setting, like Hell’s Kitchen, probably makes more sense anyways.
[zergpaid]Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, the fact that The Punisher is getting his own spinoff show must mean that studio execs are pleased with Bernthal’s performance and that they expect him to be a huge hit when he makes his appearance alongside Matt Murdock in Hell’s Kitchen.
This makes sense, too, given some of Daredevil producer Doug Petrie’s comments on how the character is going to be complex in that he’s someone who audiences will root for, but that they’ll second guess themselves while doing so:
“Viewers watching the show will be rooting for this guy with a gun but we’re also going to force people to second-guess themselves. Taking lethal justice into your own hands in America in 2015 is tricky s–t.”
In a recent interview, Bernthal weighed in on Frank Castle as well, adding the following:
“One of the things I’m most excited for is I’m hoping the audience will go back and forth. There are things you can identify with and get behind,and there are things when the character pushes it and you can’t get behind him anymore. And that’s what I want. I think that’s the nature of the character. This is a guy who pushes the envelope. He’s brutal, but he’s coming from a place of unbelievable hurt. And the best thing about the character is he just doesn’t care. It’s a highly personal mission he’s on and if he offends you, it’s completely unimportant to him.”
With Daredevil set to return on Netflix with its sophomore outing on March 18th, we can hardly wait to see how things will play out now that a spinoff is in the works for The Punisher.