Before he aimed his sights on criminals as the Punisher, Frank Castle was an honorable soldier caught up in a bad mess. In a new photo from Marvel’s The Punisher coming to Netflix, actor Jon Bernthal is geared up in desert camouflage during his service in the United States Marine Corps. While in the comics Castle was a veteran of the Vietnam War, the MCU’s modern setting envisions a Castle having served in the Iraq War as a scout sniper.
In a picture Empire released on Tuesday, Castle is seen in full combat uniform carrying an HK416 short barrel rifle and a shotgun on his back. He’s also got a sawed machete holstered on his left thigh. All in all, Castle looks like he means business, but hadn’t yet tipped over the edge that made him a ruthless vigilante in the streets of Hell’s Kitchen.
In an interview with the magazine, Bernthal gave a small glimpse at what’s in store for the new series, which is only tangentially related to Marvel’s other Netflix shows like The Defenders. “It’s the only thing that silences the demons, temporarily,” Bernthal said of Castle’s fatal form of justice. “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.”
See the photo below.
Looks like Frank Castle is about to dish out some real punishment. Eh? Eh?
Marvel’s The Punisher will premiere on Netflix later this year.
