‘The Punisher’ Teaser Reveals Major Villain

If you have been waiting for The Punisher, then Netflix is about to reward your patience. The site just rolled out its awaited miniseries about the Defenders, leaving Frank Castle next in line for his own Netflix series. A teaser for The Punisher was even housed at the end of Marvel’s The Defenders, and the clip seems to show-off one of its key villains.

Thanks to the folks at Screen Geek, a still image of one villain from The Punisher is being passed around the Internet. The image, which can be seen below, appears to show Paul Schulze in-character as Rawlins.

Last year, Schulze was officially cast in The Punisher to play a very secretive role. Marvel would only describe the character as Rawlins, “a high-ranking member of the CIA whose operations in Afghanistan intersect with Frank Castle.”

If you are familiar with the Punisher, then the name Rawlins should be a familiar one. There is a man who goes by the name of William Rawlins. The character is an important antagonist in Punisher MAX by Garth Ennis, and the CIA executive has corrupt ties with the mafia. Rawlins also wears an eyepatch, and The Punisher teaser shows Schulze bare-faced with a damaged left eye. The clip also features a scene where Frank is pulled off Rawlins by soldiers, so the pair clearly have a tenuous past with one another.

Marvel’s The Punisher is the first series to spin out of one of Marvel’s other Netflix shows. Bernthal debuted the role of Frank Castle in the second season of Marvel’s Daredevil. Marvel’s The Punisher is being developed by Steve Lightfoot for Netflix. Lightfoot will serve as showrunner.

Production on the first season of The Punisher commenced in October 2016 and concluded on April 2017. The series is expected to debut on Netflix in 2017.