Netflix and Marvel’s Punisher series just added five new actors. It appears these new cast members will play both original and comic book characters whose descriptions sound ripe for a political thriller.
After breaking out of Daredevil Season 2, Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle will headline a solo series for Marvel and Netflix in 2017.
Daniel Webber (11.22.63) will play Lewis Walcott, “a young veteran who has had a difficult time re-assimilating into Civilian Society.” Jason R. Moore (A Lonely Place for Dying) will be Curtis Hoyle, another friend of Castle’s and one of the only people to know that he’s still alive after faking his death in Daredevil.
Paul Schulze (Nurse Jackie) joins as Rawlins, a high-ranking CIA official who crossed paths with Castle in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Jaime Ray Newman (Bates Motel) will appear as Sarah Lieberman, the wife of Punisher’s gadget inventor Micro, and whose marriage with her husband will be tested after discovering Micro’s involvement with Castle.
Lastly, Michael Nathanson (Wolf of Wall Street) has been cast as Sam Stein, a Homeland agent who becomes frustrated after his partner, Dinah, becomes obsessed with the Punisher case.
While it’s unclear how these characters will factor into the Punisher series, both Hoyle and Rawlins have a history in the comic books, with the latter a villain in the Punisher series. Executive Producer and showrunner Steve Lightfoot tells Marvel, “It’s a thrill to watch them each bring their characters to life with such layered, nuanced performances.” The cast already includes Bernthal reprising the titular role, as well as Deborah Ann Woll returning as Daredevil’s Karen Page.
From what it sounds like, the show will maintain the tone of the Punisher episodes from Daredevil, modernizing the character from a veteran of the Vietnam war to a veteran of the Middle East conflict. His story also seems to intersect with the U.S. government, making the case that The Punisher could be a bloody thriller with a hint of international political intrigue.
The series is expected to release on Netflix sometime in 2017.
