In light of the unspeakable tragedy that occurred this week in Las Vegas, Marvel and Netflix have decided to drop their planned big reveal about The Punisher from this weekend’s New York Comic-Con schedule. It was expected that the long-awaited release date of the upcoming series would be unveiled at the event, and according to a new report, it seems that we might know just why this decision was made.
Newsday’s Verne Gay is alleging that “they’ve heard” that the reveal of the release date has been cancelled because Marvel have changed their plans about when to drop the TV show on the streaming service. The original launch date of mid-October will apparently now be pushed back until “late fall,” due to the Las Vegas tragedy.
While this news may leave many Marvel fans disgruntled, the decision is perfectly understandable if it turns out to be true. Unlike most superheroes, the Punisher operates with firearms and extreme violence. So, celebrating a murderous gunman as a hero in their new TV show could be considered to be in supremely poor taste so soon after what happened in Vegas.
Alongside the panel at New York Comic-Con, an associated event that was to be held in Paris has also been cancelled. Those in attendance at the event, titled Nuit Noire (Black Night), would have been able to see the first two episodes of The Punisher as well as a livestream of the NYCC panel. The entire season was then likely to arrive online shortly after.
It’s worth bearing in mind that none of this has been confirmed just yet. ComicBook.com have reached out to Marvel and Netflix for a response, but have yet to receive anything back. If there’s any truth to this report, though, then we can probably expect The Punisher to arrive some time in November. As always, watch this space for more.