'The Punisher' Season 2 Villain John Pilgrim: Everything We Know So Far

The Punisher Season 2 hits Netflix this month, and while Frank Castle will still have Jigsaw to contend with, there’s also a new villain waiting in the wings. Josh Stewart’s character, John Pilgrim, isn’t in the comics, so fans can’t look there in hopes of finding hints as to what to expect. However, we do already know a decent amount about the Punisher Season 2 villain.

Light spoilers for The Punisher Season 2 below.

Marvel announced Stewart’s casting in February 2018 and described his character as “a man whose calm exterior belies a ruthless interior.” His violent side is no longer part of his life until something happens that forces that to change.

Pilgrim is a Christian fundamentalist who is “an honorable, trustworthy guy” and “a mirror of Frank” with “a propensity for violence,” showrunner Steven Lightfoot told Inverse during a Season 2 set visit. “You’d want him on your side, but … he’s put his loyalties in the wrong place. Unfortunately, Frank is on the other side of that.”

“He pays attention to the fundamentals. He plays by the book,” Stewart said of his character. “It’s all or nothing with him. … He only believes there is one empowered individual.”

“What’s true is true, to him,” he said to Screen Rant. “What’s right is right, to him. And what God says is what God says, to him.”

In an interview with Collider (via Forbes), Pilgrim is also described as “Alt-Right”.

“On the exterior, he’s a man who is a Christian Fundamentalist who had a rage, a violent side of him,” Stewart told Collider. “It’s buried deep. I think where this is all headed, that sort of side of him is going to resurface a bit.”

Expect to find out about his past during Season 2.

Pilgrim is part of the story of another new Season 2 character, Amy (played by Giorgia Whigham), though we don’t know many details as to how.

“She’s got herself in some trouble and is way over her head,” Lightfoot told Inverse. “There are people coming after her and Frank.”

“She gets caught up in something she shouldn’t have gotten tied into,” Whigham previewed. “She realizes she’s only 16 and she can’t do it on her own. … Frank is Frank Castle. She realizes he can help her.”

How exactly is Pilgrim connected? Fans will have to wait to find out.

The Punisher Season 2 will be released in January 2019 on Netflix.

Related video: Go Inside the Making of Marvel’s The Punisher