New ‘Punisher’ Photo Confirms Flashback

A new image from Marvel’s The Punisher confirms that the Netflix series will feature a flashback to Frank Castle’s time in the military.

The image shows Castle (Jon Bernthal) in his tactical sniper gear from his days as a member of the United States Marine Corps. The photo suggests that the military component of Marvel’s The Punisher runs much deeper than just The Punisher‘s personal armory.

Take a look at the image below (via Empire):

While The Punisher is a spinoff of the second season of Marvel’s Daredevil, where Bernthal made his debut as Castle, the first season of the show will stand apart from the interlocking narrative that led to The Defenders crossover series and deals primarily with Castle’s vengeful bloodlust.

“It’s the only thing that silences the demons, temporarily,” Bernthal tells Empire of the Punisher’s killing sprees. “There’s going to be an attempt to move beyond the Punisher, but that’s something he can’t shake. There’s part of me that’s hungry to get back into the darkness, that’s excited to see it fall apart.”

With Marvel’s The Defenders now in the rear-view, Marvel Television and Netflix has begun focusing on building the excitement for The Punisher, the next street-level Marvel Cinematic Universe series set to stream.

Marvel and Netflix released a teaser that introduced much of the show’s supporting cast but only left a cryptic hint about the premiere date. The Punisher Twitter account also tweeted out a series of 13 messages in Morse code, one again emphasizing Castle’s military history, that appear to be the titles of the 13 episodes in the show’s first season.

Though not confirmed, there have been some hints that Frank Castle may not be the only major Marvel character to appear in The Punisher. Whether this rumor could be a reference to one of the Defenders or perhaps a fan-favorite newcomer like Moon Knight is unclear, though it is worth noting that Marc Spector does also have a history in the military.

Marvels The Punisher is expected to premiere on Netflix in November.