Today, TV Line has learned that Marvel and Netflix are extremely close to greenlighting a Punisher spin-off series starring Jon Bernthal. This comes off comments from the companies CEO’s being impressed by his take on the classic Marvel anti-hero. This is something most fans have asked for and would be the first spin-off series after the initial announcement of Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist being in development at Netflix. Other character spin-off shows included Moon Knight, Blade, Ghost Rider and to a lesser extent Cloak & Dagger which was once being developed at ABC. Unfortunately, Marvel and Netflix have yet to confirm these plans…
Back in July Adi Shankar the producer behind The Punisher: Dirty Laundry short film starring Thomas Jane revealed to Omega Underground he would be interested in being showrunner (and assuming writer) on a Netflix Punisher show if it was ever developed:
@KnightGambit @jonnybernthal @netflix that would be dope … =)
— Adi Shankar (@adishankarbrand) July 30, 2015
The question is would it be the origin story of Frank Castle and his decent into The Punisher persona. Showing his time in (assuming) Afghanistan. Him struggling with PTSD and the lost of his family to street gangsters. Which keeps blurring the lines between the Afghan war and the war for Hell’s Kitchen. Much like Arrow the show could switch back-and-forth between his time at war and time on the streets.
Jon Bernthal has also went onto speak with Entertainment Weekly about his take on Frank Castle and how he is so different yet the same when compared to Matt Murdock:
“He’s a guy who brought the war home with him [in] the worst possible way. There are a lot of iterations of this character and in all of them it’s a man who’s gone through this unbelievable trauma and what’s interesting about our take on him is how this trauma reshapes his own philosophy. I think once you see these characters collide, it’s tremendously interesting and emotionally gripping as well. It’s going to be a special season. If you thought last season of Daredevil was dark, we’re going to a whole new place.”
The Punisher will be seen on Daredevil Season 2 debuting on Netflix in March