A Punisher spin-off is in development from the Daredevil team

The Hollywood Reporter confirms that a standalone series starring Bernthal as The Punisher is in development at Netflix. Daredevil kicked it all off, Jessica Jones followed, with Luke Cage expected to release later this year, and Iron Fist wrapping it all up sometime in 2017, which will then conclude to the formation of ‘The Defenders’.

There’s always been a train of thought that The Punisher would be a good candidate for his own Marvel Netflix series, and that theory only intensified after it was announced that Frank Castle would be a major player in Daredevil Season 2.

Bernthal’s Punisher, a.k.a. Frank Castle, will debut during the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil series which will premiere on the streaming service March 18. “We wanted to mix in one ingredient at a time”, said Ramirez at the Television Critics Association winter previews on Sunday. “We’ll find out who she is really by the end of [the season]”. The first few months I was taking long walks across the Brooklyn Bridge to the set, trying to shed any outside influence of joy. Instead, the producers want to stick to a grittier look, but when they design the costumes they do “what looks cool, how much do we love the comics and can we do that”.

Bernthal also acknowledged the impact that his character might have on different people.

In Season 1, Matt Murdock had to decide how far he was willing to go and if he was willing to kill in his new role as a costumed vigilante – ultimately deciding not to.

“With Frank, what was important was the emptiness inside him”, said Bernthal. The conflict with Matt Murdock apparently causes an “evolution” within Castle that leads to a “whole new place” of darkness, which makes it seem very likely this portrayal of the Punisher is starting right near the beginning.

Petrie explained that Daredevil: Season 2 would look at the idea of “What is it to be a hero?”