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Today Marvel are reporting that their iconic and somewhat controversial character, The Punisher has been cast for the next season of the Daredevil Netflix show.
And he’ll be portrayed by Jon Bernthal of Walking Dead, Fury and Wolf of Wall Street fame.
I think Jon Bernthal is a good actor. You might be looking for a “BUT” after that sentence, but there isn’t one. I’m just stating what I believe to fact about the actor.
Do I think he’ll be a good Punisher? I’m still on the fence with this one, but when I force myself to make a decision I’m coming down on the side of “YES”.
Here’s the argument that’s warring in my head: I think the man can act and I think his performance in The Walking Dead proves that he can certainly bring a lot of credibility to the role and makes ME believe he can play a really good version of the character. He’s a rising movie star which Netflix have managed to snag and draw back to TV, which either says a lot about him REALLY wanting the role or it shows that Netflix and Marvel are wanting to throw money at this thing so it takes off even further. Either way, I’m good with it.
Personally, I LOVED Ray Stevenson’s portrayal of The Punisher in the 2008 Punisher: War Zone, which was vastly underrated, but gave the most accurate portrayal of Frank Castle I’ve seen to date. And I think that’s what’s bugging me about this: in my head, I already have Stevenson’s stellar performance as Frank Castle, so I’m REALLY struggling to picture Bernthal in the role DESPITE respecting the man’s acting ability.
I find myself in a strange head-space about this, one I think I can only resolve by actually seeing Bernthal in action.
When I first read the news about the casting, I had a geek out moment. I was like “Aw COOL! The Punisher!” but then the more I thought about it, the more I became concerned.
The first season of the show cut through a good number of major characters, killing them off without a second thought. This gave me a “um, they don’t think this show will have longevity” moment, but I got over it. What the hell does this have to do with The Punisher? I’m getting to it.
I’m concerned Netflix are throwing awesome Marvel characters at the show just to bump up the ratings and to hell with the storyline. I KNOW this was the intention all along: after all, Daredevil was one of four Marvel shows Netflix signed on for, along with Jessical Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage. But the goal here was to bring all of these characters together at the end to produce a Defenders mini-series. Which is cool and I can get behind.
BUT, this doesn’t involve the Punisher. This character is being brought in for a story arc in season 2, probably as an uneasy ally who may or may not become an enemy.
Can you see where my problem with this is? I want to see some other Daredevil villains as the series antagonists. Elektra was mentioned in the first season: she could be an entire story arc for season 2 if they were smart about it. Brubaker’s take on Mr. Fear during his run was absolutely fantastic.
I, personally, would find this more appealing rather than throwing another iconic Marvel character at the show for the WOW factor. It screams all style and no substance to me and if it turns out this way, I will be heartbroken. Season 1 had heaps of both and was a good mix.
I hope the writers of the show will play this one smart.
Firstly, I want you all to know that this article wasn’t meant to be done to be solely controversial, even though I suspect some will view it as such.
These are just my opinions and concerns about a show that I absolutely LOVE. I know you all do too, which is which I want you to let me know what you think about this. Do you share my concerns? It not, why not? Do you have any other concerns plaguing you about this?
Let me know via Twitter or Facebook
Let me know via Twitter or Facebook
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