Frank Castle is coming back, and he’s (probably) going after Jigsaw. On Tuesday, Netflix formally announced a second season of Marvel’s The Punisher, the critically-acclaimed action drama spun off from Daredevil.
The announcement came in a 15-second video, in which the Punisher’s deadly skull logo is spray-painted and drips down to a big white “2.” The video was initially shared on the show’s official Facebook page.
As one of the more popular Marvel/Netflix shows in recent memory, the announcement of a second season should come as no surprise. The show stars Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle, a war veteran turned vengeful vigilante whose family is killed in cold blood. The tragedy compels Castle on a never-ending crusade against crime, though in The Punisher, Castle confronts the people directly responsible for his family’s deaths.
In the season finale, Frank engages in a showdown with his old war buddy Billy Russo (played by Ben Barnes), who in the comics becomes the disfigured serial killer Jigsaw. At the end of their fight, Frank severely wounds Billy, who is last seen in the hospital with severe scars and a glass shard sticking out of his face.
The Punisher first appeared in a 1974 issue of The Amazing Spider-Man as a B-level antagonist of Spidey. Due to his popularity, Marvel gave the Punisher his own starring comics, which have had a number of prolific writers at the helm, including creator Gerry Conway, Archie Goodwin, Garth Ennis, Matt Fraction, Becky Cloonan, Larry Hama, Greg Rucka, and more.
Three different Punisher movies have been released: 1989’s The Punisher starring Dolph Lundgren, 2004’s The Punisher with Thomas Jane, and 2008’s Punisher: War Zone with Ray Stevenson. In 2016, Bernthal debuted as Frank Castle in Season 2 of Daredevil, with the actor earning acclaim for his performance. The strength of Daredevil inspired Marvel producers to give Bernthal his own show, The Punisher, released last month.
A release date for Season 2 of The Punisher has not been announced. Season 1 is streaming now on Netflix.
