When Netflix decided not to hold a panel on the New York Comic Con two weeks ago for their next streaming TV series collaboration “The Punisher,” there was some amount of concern for the show. After all, the cancellation of the panel was on account of the then-recent mass shooting incident in Las Vegas. It did not help that “The Punisher,” to star Jon Bernthal reprising the role from “Daredevil” season 2, has not been given a release date in all the time it was being hyped. Luckily for Marvel-Netflix fans, the streaming service finally gave a date when the series will debut, and it is tantamount to shots being fired against Warner Bros.
and DC to boot.
Unexpected competition
This Thursday, October 19, Netflix released yet another trailer for their upcoming MCU TV series “The Punisher,” which features Marvel’s most bloodily lethal vigilante antihero. Said trailer also states that the show will become available for streaming next month on November 17. For those who are keeping track of Marvel’s “Distinguished Competitor” that is DC, that date is also the cinematic premiere of “Justice League,” the first Warner-DC team-up film starring its stable of movie superheroes thus far.
Determining when audiences will be able to see “The Punisher” has been quite the chore for Netflix. The series was first confirmed as a done deal by a trailer shown in September, although the premiere date was obscured.
And as stated earlier, the real-life violence of the Las Vegas shooting incident put a damper on the streaming service’s enthusiasm for promoting a truly gritty and trigger-happy lead character for a show. Now, the fact that they have confirmed “The Punisher” to pop up on Netflix the same day as the “Justice League” premiere may be, even if unintended, construed as a challenge from Marvel to DC.
Ghosts of the past
Show-runner Steve Lightfoot has earlier talked about giving the Punisher a more human side in his own solo Netflix outing, and this latest trailer proves it courtesy of superb acting from Jon Bernthal. Most of the preview consists of flashbacks from the past of bereaved ex-Marine vigilante Frank Castle, back when he was still in the Corps.
While the death of his family has hardened him (as seen in “Daredevil” S2), some details of his old missions still give Frank grief. And that only gets worse when NSA analyst Micro (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) blackmails him to help blow open a government cover-up of epic proportions.
Marvel's “The Punisher” also stars Amber Rose Revah and recurring actress Deborah Ann Woll reprising her role as Karen Page from “Daredevil.” Lightfoot executive produces along with Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb, Cindy Holland and Jim Chory. The series will run 13 episodes, all made available for binge-watching on Netflix next month, November 17.
