THE PUNISHER Actor Ben Barnes Reveals Billy Russo Won't Be Referred To As Jigsaw In Season 2
Season 2 of The Punisher is set to arrive next month, and thanks to actor Ben Barnes, we now have some new details how the Season 1 finale has affected the villainous Billy Russo. Hit the jump for more.
Though the days of Marvel's Netflix series are numbered, the streaming platform is still set to release the second season of The Punisher in January 2019, with Jon Bernthal and Ben Barnes returning as Frank Castle and Billy Russo respectively.
But while the Season 1 finale saw Russo receive a brutal beatdown at the hands of The Punisher that severely damaged his face, it looks like the character won't be adopting the Jigsaw moniker in Season 2.
According to a set report from Collider, actor Ben Barnes revealed that they "don’t refer to the character, in the series, as Jigsaw." However, the star did note that we'll still see Russo's defeat affect his personality, saying "he very much has a jigsaw puzzle in his brain. It’s not necessarily about his face, it’s about the psychological, which is how they try and approach everything. Particularly this season, even more than last season."
While this will certainly disappoint a few fans, creative decisions like this aren't exactly unheard of in the Marvel/Netflix shows. After all, even The Kingpin was largely referred to as Fisk in Daredevil.
Aside from discussing the name Jigsaw, Barnes also provided some interesting details on the design of his character's scars, a design that didn't go over too well with some fans when set photos from Season 2 surfaced online.
"They tried quite carefully to figure out all the specific injuries from exactly what happened to him designated to leave a scar. He gets shot in the cheek, a ricochet into the cheek, so there’s a bullet wound hole in the cheek. We hear the doctor saying he’s undergone many surgeries, obviously for the stab wound in his stomach but also on his face. He’s had a plastic surgeon try and fix him. With all these stories, they’ve gone for a more grounded version of what that imagery would be."
Whether your pleased with the show's decision to go with a look that's less extreme than his comic book counterpart or the design in Punisher: War Zone, there's no denying that the folks behind the camera put a lot of thought into Russo's appearance.
But what do you folks make of all this? Does it make you more interested in Season 2 of The Punisher? To share your thoughts, leave a comment below.