As promotion for the upcoming Daredevil spin-off begins to ramp up, it seems crypticism is key to The Punisher's promotional campaign. Redacted release dates, episode titles tweeted out one by one in morse code without any context given immediately, a much different type of campaign than any of the five Netflix shows preceding it. However, it is far from impossible to figure out when The Punisher will be released, and it may in fact be easier than you may believe.
Let's start with the basics. We know from earlier reports (including from people who work on the show) that the series is coming out in November. We also know that Netflix typically releases all their original shows on Fridays, which narrows it down to 4 possibilities: the 3rd, the 10th, the 17th, and the 24th.
But, we can eliminate these choices further. Thor: Ragnarok releases the first Friday of the month on the 3rd, and with Justice League arriving soon after on the 17th, that is also a safe bet to strike out. Leaving just two days left: the 10th and the 24th.
This is where it gets a bit more difficult. While Runaways is set to debut on the week of the 24th, unlike The Punisher, Runaways is on Hulu, which operates differently than Netflix. In particular, they don't release all of their episodes all at once, so while Runaways does share a premiere week with a potential date, Runaways is a show that will air weekly, so there's less direct competition from a show dropping all at once in the Friday of the same week. The same can be said for the 10th: while Marvel's Inhumans show is set to have it's season finale on that date, again as a weekly show it is not too likely to be impacted (and, based off the general consensus of the show's reviews thus far, I doubt the last thing that show is concerned about is The Punisher). With both having potential competition, but both competition being in positions where it may not be a prominent concern, there's no way to say which one it will be, save for one additional factor.
That factor is that
November 11th, a day after one of the potential release dates, is a US Holiday called
Veterans Day, a holiday commemorating the Armistice with Germany that signaled the end of the first World War, celebrated on the 11th day of the 11th month every year. However, when that day falls upon a Saturday, like it is this year, it is also
observed on the 10th. With a show with military presence so heavily involved in its story and even in its promotion, featuring a character who is himself a veteran, I can predict with confidence that
The Punisher's release date is none other than November 10th, 2017.