The Punisher has always been a tough nut to crack. Over the years we've had numerous takes, each take involving a different director and yet, the films never take off, the character just wears people out. Why is that? Is it because of the ones who were chosen to play the part?
(Besides Dolph Lundgren, because, there was no hope at all with him) Or was it the producers and writers fault in the not understanding the character and his appeal. I believe it was the medium. I don't think the Punisher would work at all as a film. He's moody, he's dark, and he doesn't care who get's in his way. For a feature film where we are spending 1-2hrs with him, it's exhausting, because there's no break, we don't have time to focus on other characters; he has to be the focus. But if he were put in a series where we can bounce back and forth and leave some episodes dealing with his interesting past ,we can get over this and leave the amount of time spent with him to the viewer.
If The Punisher were made into a Netflix series in the vein of what Marvel is doing in setting up their Defenders Miniseries, it could work. I feel the reason he hasn't done well on film is because he's a deep character and you need a lot of time with him to understand his motivations and why he does what he does. Why he has to kill? What he did in the war? Why he deems himself worthy to punish those who've wronged him and others. With a show you could deal with his time in the war. If done right the Punisher can be just as appealing of a character as Hannibal Lector, because he is a serial killer, he doesn't even think if he should kill before killing, because to him those criminals had their chance. The world to him is black and white, and if going to hell. He might as well take a few along with him.
In terms of casting I believe that Jon Bernthal would be an excellent choice to play Frank and since Stephen DeKnight has expressed interest again and again to do The Punisher, maybe he could help convince Marvel on an approach that would work. But in the meantime we’ll just have to wait and see. In terms of reading materials I would recommend you read
Born by Gareth Ennis. That story perfectly explains why The Punisher does what he does and how he can’t stop killing.
Well this was my first article and I decided to give this a crack and shoot my ideas out there. I hope I continue to bring more interesting ideas to the table and even report on some news stories as they appear.
Adios,
ThaConLife