Up until now, Marvel and Netflix have been curiously quiet about The Punisher spinoff.
Perhaps in fear that any press and/or marketing would overshadow the launch of The Defenders, an eight-part miniseries designed to round up the street-level heroes of New York City, the Frank Castle solo outing has remained in the shadows for months now.
But following a small presence at San Diego Comic-Con, coupled with that blood-pumping end-credits scene that came attached to The Defenders, it seems Marvel and Netflix are ready to court The Punisher into the limelight. And not a moment too soon.
Granted, there’s been nary a mention of an exact release date for the 13-part standalone series, but Empire has now published a pair of behind-the-scenes action shots. Included in the outlet’s October issue, which crowned Star Wars: The Last Jedi to be its cover star, these photos actually found their way online via Twitter (with a tip of the hat to Screen Rant), and show Jon Bernthal’s ex-military man scoping out a potential victim.
Whereas Tuesday’s action shot (also seen in the gallery above) was lifted from Frank’s pre-Punisher days, these particular images appear to be taken at a time when Castle is beginning to take matters into his own hands. That vigilantism leads him to strike up a friendship with David Lieberman’s Micro, who can also be seen here.
In case you missed it, The Punisher Netflix account recently Tweeted out all 13 episode titles…in Morse Code. Granted, it didn’t take long before fans deciphered the messages, confirming those monikers to be: “3 AM,” “Two Dead Men”, “Kandahar”, “Resupply”, “Gunner”, “The Judas Goat”, “Crosshairs”, “Cold Steel”, “Front Toward Enemy”, “Virtue of the Vicious”, “Danger Close”, “Home”, and “Memento Mori”.
Expect The Punisher to pummel his way onto Netflix sometime in November.