Punisher to get spin-off series starring Jon Bernthal

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Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Fri, 04/29/2016 - 08:31

From Entertainment Weekly:

It’s official: The Punisher is getting his own TV series.

EW has learned that Marvel has ordered a spin-off starring vigilante character introduced in Daredevil season 2.

Jon Bernthal will reprise his role as vengeful military veteran Frank Castle, who brings his own lethal form of justice to Hell’s Kitchen.

Writer and executive producer Steve Lightfoot (Hanniba, Casualty) will serve as showrunner.

Marvel’s The Punisher marks the sixth series ordered (so far) as part of the collaboration between Netflix and Marvel Television, including the upcoming Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and the ensemble miniseries The Defenders – along with Jessica Jones and the aforementioned Daredevil. (And in case you’re wondering, as we are, whether Bernthal’s character will also be added to The Defenders lineup, that’s not yet clear – though it seems likely he’ll at least pop in for an appearance.)

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Commentary: While part of me wants to gripe about oversaturation of live-action comic-based projects, Jon Bernthal was absolutely brilliant as Frank Castle in Daredevil Season 2. And there definitely still seems to be a lot of story you can tell filling in the gaps in the conspiracy that killed his family. I'd also love to see a good live action version of Jigsaw, who was always great villain in the comics.

It is kind of crazy that adding Punisher means there will be six Marvel series on Netflix alone, but as long as the quality and the audience is there, I don't see any end in sight. On the bright side, I would far rather see comic-based shows than reality shows.