Marvel’s The Punisher Features A Military Component

The Punisher star Jon Bernthal says there will be a “military component” to the upcoming Marvel/Netflix series, adding that the Frank Castle that made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the sophomore season of Daredevil is not the same man depicted in his solo series.

“I think with Frank and with the world that he’s very much involved in, he’s a soldier, so I think there will be very much a military component of the show,” Bernthal shared with EW. “It will be somewhat centered on that… I think that [the] Frank Castle that was in Daredevil is not in Punisher.”

Though Frank was operating as a gun-toting vigilante on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen in Daredevil, he was yet to be fully formed as “the Punisher” by season’s end. Now with his own series, The Punisher looks to continue to explore the evolution of family man Frank Castle. Says Daredevil costar Deborah Ann Woll, who will reprise her role as Karen Page in The Punisher, the newest Marvel Cinematic Universe series will be “more grounded” than its counterparts, with a “gritty, real look.”

“Frank has a soft spot in Karen’s heart, and certainly with the dark history that Karen has, there are very few people she can share her authentic self with,” Woll said. “Frank is someone who she could potentially fully open up to.”

Frank Castle’s introduction in season two of Daredevil revealed his history as a veteran war hero who served with the Marine Corps Force Recon in Iraq and Afghanistan, with Karen learning the former lieutenant was awarded the Navy Cross.

A day after returning home from Iraq, Frank took his family — a wife and a young son and daughter — to Central Park, where the Castle family unwittingly came across a conflict between the Mexican Cartel, the Kitchen Irish, and the Dogs of Hell. His family slaughtered by way of this mob war, Frank Castle survived, but barely: he was shot in the head and rendered a “do not resuscitate” order at the hospital. Returned to the land of the living, Frank Castle then set out to violently punish the criminals responsible for his family’s murder.

“Because I do have some familiarity with the comic book audience from The Walking Dead, I know how much Frank Castle means to so many people and it’s a responsibility that I take enormously,” Bernthal recently told Den of Geek. “It’s huge for me, and I know how much the character resonates with members of law enforcement, members of the military, and it was something that I really, really wanted.”

“And I had also known that there was a stigma to the role and people question some of the previous iterations,” Bernthal continued. “I got really lucky to get this part and I got really lucky to be able to tell Frank’s story over a thirteen episode arc and now that we’ve shot season one of The Punisher series, I’m just very nervous, I really just hope people like it. You know, we’ve worked really hard and I really, really want people to continue to dig this version of Frank and I care about his audience deeply.”

The Punisher hits Netflix in November.

The Punisher is based on the Marvel Comics character created by Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr., and Ross Andru. The character debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #129 in 1974. Originally meant to be a Spider-Man villain, the Punisher’s brutality resonated with fans and turned him into a cult classic. The vigilante has since starred in several series including three live-action movies: one starring Dolph Lundgren in 1989, another starring Thomas Jane in 2004, and Punisher: War Zone with Ray Stevenson in 2004.