The Punisher returned to Netflix this past weekend for its second and, sadly, also probably its last season. The streaming service has axed three out of five of its Marvel series in the past few months, which has led fans to assume that Marvel and Netflix are cutting ties ahead of the Disney Plus launch, which will no doubt be a huge rival to the latter.
Whatever ends up happening to the show though, star Jon Bernthal’s confident that this won’t be the last we’ll see of Frank Castle on screen. The actor was speaking to The Hollywood Reporter when he said that he has enough faith in the ongoing popularity of the Punisher that he’s sure that, whether he gets to play the part again or not, the character will continue to live on.
“It’s a character that’s existed for decades, it’s a character that has touched so many people, and it’s a character that’s resonated in the law enforcement and military community. It was an absolute honor to play him, and I know that there will be more Frank Castle one way or the other, and no matter what it is, everything that I’ve gotten to do so far, I’m eternally grateful for. I’m honored that I got to wear the vest.”
Bernthal’s no doubt correct about the Punisher living on past his iteration. After all, he’s the fourth person to portray the anti-hero following Dolph Lundgren in 1989, Thomas Jane in 2004 and Ray Stevenson in 2008. Out of all of those takes on the character, though, Bernthal’s easily the most popular, offering a definitive performance as Frank Castle. We wouldn’t like to be the next guy who has to measure up to him in the role.
At least it’s likely that a replacement won’t be found for a while. It’s known that Marvel and Netflix’s deal stipulates that the studio can’t use the characters in any capacity for two years after the end of their series on the streaming service. Assuming The Punisher is cancelled following season 2, then we can expect a new show or movie no earlier than 2021.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. For now, we can all enjoy the most recent run of the series as it’s now available to watch on Netflix.
