Slowly but surely, Marvel and Netflix are beginning to peel back the layers of their Punisher spinoff series.
It all began late last week when a fresh deluge of rumors linked Frank Castle with a cameo role in The Defenders. Alas, the jury’s still out on that one – Jon Bernthal is listed to appear on the show’s SDCC panel, which kicks off Friday at 5:15 pm PT, so take from that what you will – but Marvel’s marketing machine is beginning to flicker into life, particularly now that we’ve seen The Punisher‘s blood-drenched one-sheet and a deadly motion poster that unveiled a slightly more modern take on that famous white skull.
Fast forward to now, and as Marvel and Netflix begin to make the final preparations ahead of tomorrow’s showcase, Netflix Korea (via CBM) has unveiled a rather wonderful, Stan Lee-narrated teaser that recounts all four standalone series thus far: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage. But in true Marvel fashion, the studio has included an all-too-brief stinger after the credits, wherein Frank Castle steps out of the shadows, muttering, “looks like I got here just in time.” Let the speculation commence!
Now, the big question is whether that scene is lifted from The Punisher – after all, Marvel’s upcoming solo series is expected to show off its first reel of footage at SDCC – or, in line with those early rumors, if it’s from The Defenders, which would all but confirm Castle’s cameo. It’s by no means a sure thing, and until we have firm confirmation for you, treat this piece of speculation as just that. But it seems as though Netflix Korea may have spoiled the surprise ahead of time.
All eight episodes of The Defenders will be available to stream via Netflix from August 18th, and as Marvel’s team-up series is hosting a panel tomorrow at 5:15 pm PT, you’ll want to keep a close eye on We Got This Covered for all of those SDCC announcements as they begin to trickle online. Will that deluge of information bring word of a Punisher cameo? We’ll find out soon enough, but word is the Jon Bernthal-led spinoff is on course to premiere in November.