The new trailer for the second season of The Punisher teases the rivalry between Frank Castle and Billy Russo, and in this fresh set of stills, we’re seeing much the same focus.
Naturally, this next set of episodes will see the return of Jon Bernthal, who’s looking armed and moody in the new stills. With the famed vigilante back in the game, showrunner Steve Lightfoot recently explained that the second season is “about Frank really adopting the mantle of The Punisher.” And speaking of characters embracing their comic book personas, Billy Russo will be going full Jigsaw in the upcoming season, albeit behind a new mask to hide his many scars.
If the latest promotional material is anything to go by, then you can expect the relationship between these two adversaries to be central to the next season, though Ben Barnes’ character won’t be the only villain in the mix. For one thing, Josh Stewart assumes the role of John Pilgrim, a man described by the actor himself as “a Christian Fundamentalist who had a rage, a violent side of him.”
At the same time, for many a Marvel enthusiast right now, the real big bad is Netflix. Now that the axe has dropped on Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil, it’s widely predicted that Frank’s show will get the same treatment, and though the platform has yet to suggest that this will be the final season of The Punisher, a lot of fans are already bracing themselves for the bad news. It must be said that it’s a pretty fitting series to generate a sense of impending doom around, but we’ll find out if Frank Castle can at least go out with a bang when the season comes out on January 18th.
