The Punisher series is going to be airing sometime in the near future on Netflix and we’ve come-up with a wish-list of six things we’d like to see be apart of upcoming show. Here’s hoping we see some of this stuff being incorporated into the show eventually, even if it doesn’t happen in the first season.
THE COMBAT VAN
One of the biggest problems with the films is that we never saw the Punisher’s signature combat van, even though the cartoons fully represented it. Created by Micro, the state-of-the-art tactical van would put most U.S. military vehicles to shame.
Decked-out with crazy amounts of storage, gadgets and weapons, the van is Frank’s mobile armory and firing-squad on wheels. Basically, it’s if Batman’s tumbler was actually used to kill bad-guys instead of just intimidate them and blowup parked cars. We haven’t really seen gadgets or any high-tech vehicles like this used in the Netflix side of the Marvel universe, and it could be ways to have interesting/unqiue action sequences within the potential 13 episode run.
It having sentry guns, detachable tactical drones and even being a driverless vehicle wouldn’t be a stretch considering modern tech.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a more modern take on the van’s design for the series.
COSTUME EVOLUTION
There’s been multiple takes on Frank’s duds as the Punisher, and it would be kind of interesting to see him use more than just the same one from Daredevil. Perhaps, seeing him in the more sleek traditional tactical look without the trenchcoat, and maybe even seeing him eventually use a mask that’s been incorporated into the more recent comics.
MILITARY CONNECTIONS
They did a solid job in Daredevil balancing Castle’s military experience, but it would be interesting to possibly see flashbacks to his special forces missions, along with seeing if there will be more corrupt military figures he has to go after, not just within the U.S. as he could also go after terrorist groups setup within the MCU already.
I think it would be sort of badass to see Frank go up against Nuke and that shadowy outfit he linked-up with in Jessica Jones, or even seeing him return to Afghanistan/Iraq to fight the terrorist group The Ten Rings.While going after mob groups like the Maggia would be still fun to see, having him going after more than just mobsters would be nice, since a lot of his villains are have military roots as well.
PROTEGES
Castle has been mostly seen as a lone-wolf type character in the live-action medium, but for most of his comic book career he’s done a lot of teaming-up with superheroes, along with having a string of allies and proteges by his side.
A couple include Lynn Michaels aka Lady Punisher, Rachel Coleman-Alves, Carlos Cruz, Payback and former mob wife Jennifer Cesare.
CAMEOS SETTING-UP FUTURE SHOWS
It worked for both Jessica Jones and Daredevil, might as well put your potentially violent characters in a series like Punisher before giving them their own show. Castle luckily has been one of the more crossover friendly characters, and has worked/fought with characters like Blade, Ghost Rider and Moon Knight.
TOP-NOTCH CASTING
It wouldn’t hurt to look at hiring both television and feature film actors for roles in the series, considering that more and more actors have been open to both Marvel parts and being apart of well-crafted television series. Jon Bernthal is easily the biggest name leading a Marvel TV series to date, so having some equally known talent in supporting roles isn’t hard to imagine.
I have a couple of suggestions for actors I’d like to see in the series, but of course Marvel TV producers and showrunner Steve Lightfoot (Hannibal) will ultimately decide on who joins the series.
Here are some casting suggestions anyways.
I’d like to see someone like Luther and Game of Thrones actress Rosie Leslie play Punisher protege and former cop Rachel Coleman-Alves.
My first choice would be to see Jonah Hill play David Lieberman aka Micro, but Josh Gad might make an equally interesting sidekick as well.
Another potential role might end-up being Dwayne Taylor (Night Thrasher) or cop Edward Dyson (Payback), I could see having someone like Black Mirror and Sicaro’s Daniel Kaluuya play those roles.
Clifton Collins Jr. almost landed a part in Marvel’s Ant-Man, but due to Edgar Wright’s exit never got to join the MCU. There are two parts I think he’d be excellent for in the series, that could be Detective Martin Soap or Carlos Cruz.
Some actors I’d like to see play villains include Walton Goggins (Justified, The Shield, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight), Monica Bellucci (Matrix Reloaded, Dracula, Spectre), Gretchen Mol (Boardwalk Empire, Rounders), veteran character actor Mark Margolis (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), along with newcomer Italian actors Marco D’Amore and Salvatore Esposito from the series Gomorrah.
This Italian gangster series Gomorrah really should influence Marvel’s approach to these new modern gangster outfits, not to end-up recycling what we’ve seen with Daredevil or other shows like Sopranos. Considering the crime families in the Marvel universe are international, including the Maggia Crime Family, it would be nice to see gangsters outside of New York for a change and already they’ve been established in California via a One Shot and Agent Carter, going overseas could be interesting as well.
As far as we know Marvel Television hasn’t committed to shooting the series in New York City, as we’ve previously stated it would be nice to see one of these shows branch-out to another city or maybe even other countries. Seeing some scenes taking place in Italy, South America, Mexico, Russia and Afghanistan would actually make some sense for the character.
What do you want to see be apart of The Punisher series?