David Farnor | On 19, Aug 2017

Thanks to Marvel, the words “post-credits scene” have become part of everyday cinema vocabulary. Fans watching The Defenders this weekend on Netflix, then, will be pleased to discover a surprise waiting after the show’s credits: a teaser trailer for The Punisher.

This isn’t the first time Netflix has opted for a post-credits scene, with Luke Cage getting his first teaser tagged on to the end of Daredevil Season 2. Now, Marvel and the streaming site have pulled the same trick again, giving us a first look at Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle in his solo outing.

The spin-off, which was announced after Season 2 of Daredevil, will see Bernthal reprise his role as the gun specialist, grieving father and violent avenger. We get a hint of what he’s hoping to avenge in the new video, which includes flashes of his time in the Marine Corpse, his family and some dead bodies.

“The past is more than memories,” intones Bernthal, with the intimidating drawl that made Castle a scene-stealing standout in Daredevil’s sophomore run. “It’s the devil you sold your soul to. He’s coming. He’s coming to collect.”

Can’t wait until the end of The Defenders? You can see the teaser at 55:15 in Episode 8 – approximately 1:55 from the very end. There’s no word on a release date yet, but judging by comments made by one of its directors, The Punisher is likely to premiere on Netflix in November. Watch this space for more – or, if you haven’t tried The Defenders, read our spoiler-free review here – or listen to us discuss the show (spoiler-free) on our podcast here.

 

The Punisher teaser revealed at Comic-Con

22nd July 2017

As anyone with an Internet connection will now know, The Defenders were out in force at Comic-Con this weekend – but they weren’t alone. The Punisher also showed up to debut the first glimpse of his new standalone series.

The spin-off, which was announced after Season 2 of Daredevil, will see Jon Bernthal reprise his role as Frank Castle, gun specialist, grieving father and violent avenger. Before The Defenders could turn up in Comic-Con’s Hall H to unveil their own trailer, Bernthal appeared to tease fans with a clip from his own solo outing.

“Please, you’ve killed everyone. The bikers, the cartels, the Cajuns, the Irish, they’re all gone,” someone on the wrong end of his rifle asks him. “What’s it going to change if I’m dead?”

The show’s directors have already spoken about the series being very different in tone to the other programmes in Marvel’s Netflixverse. While the clip from The Punisher hasn’t yet been released online, Bernthal did give more details about the show in an interview wih EW.

“I think with Frank and with the world that he’s very much involved in, he’s a soldier, so I think there will be very much a military component of the show,” he explained. “It will be somewhat centred on that… I think that [the] Frank Castle that was in Daredevil is not in Punisher.”

Deborah Ann Woll, who will reprise her role of Karen in the show, was also present and added that it would be “more grounded” and “gritty” compared to the other Hell’s Kitchen heroics.

“Frank has a soft spot in Karen’s heart, and certainly with the dark history that Karen has, there are very few people she can share her authentic self with,” she continued. “Frank is someone who she could potentially fully open up to.”

The release date is yet to be announced, as Marvel prefer to keep Comic-Con focused on The Defenders, which is out in a few weeks. For more, including when the trailer is finally published officially by Marvel, watch this space…

 

The Punisher is “different” to the other Marvel shows

11th July 2017

The Punisher will be “different” to all the other Marvel Netflix shows, one of its directors has promised.

The spin-off series, which is expected to arrive in November, see Jon Bernthal reprise his role of Frank Castle, who became a fan favourite after his appearance in Daredevil Season 2. Castle, of course, is different to the rest of the Hell’s Kitchen crew, appearing first as a villain, but remaining a vigilante with a decidedly more fatal approach to his justice than the other heroes.

That crucial distinction will be a key part of the show’s tone, director Stephen Surjik has confirmed. Speaking to LA Talk Radio, Surjik said: “It is different than the other Marvel shows as far as it is an adult drama. There are no superpowers. You know the Punisher is a character who is based on vengeance, fundamentally. His family is a victim of some horrific thing, but the character himself is well-known and the way that they approach it is very different from the other shows.”

Surjik is in a good position to tell the difference: not only has he helmed the season finale of the spin-off, but has also directed episodes from all four of Netflix’s previous Marvel projects, including Iron Fist’s finale. Most notably, he was behind the camera for Seven Minutes in Heaven, the prison-break episode in Daredevil Season 2.

For more on the show’s release date and a glimpse of an official poster, click here.

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