Will there be a second season of Marvel’s The Punisher on Netflix?
Star Jon Bernthal and showrunner Steve Lightfoot share their ideas for Frank Castle’s next mission - no spoilers
The latest superhero series from Marvel and Netflix may only have just arrived, but we’re sure viewers of The Punisher will have one burning question on their mind while watching it – will Frank Castle battle again for a second season?
“Yeah, I would love to do it again,” showrunner Steve Lightfoot told RadioTimes.com, while also emphasising that the series had NOT officially been recommissioned yet.
“Jon [Bernthal]’s a joy to work with, and a joy to write for. I'd love to do it.”
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“I've said before, Frank's in my blood and in my bones,” star Jon Bernthal added. “And it's an honour to play him.
“I don't want to go off and do it in any other way, I want to do it with Steve, this way.”
The pair already have one or two ideas for where they’d like to see Frank go next.
“This season for me was about him dealing with not only what was done to his family by others, but his own part in that,” Lightfoot said.
“I don't think he's forgiven himself, but I think he's processed his own guilt and moved on from that. But there's always this conflict in him. Because I think he's an incredibly honourable, decent guy, but he also likes it when he has an excuse to let the genie out of the bottle.
“So I think it'll be about what do we throw in front of him that sets him on that course again."
Bernthal, who also appeared as the Punisher in Netflix Marvel series Daredevil, continued, “I think what's always interesting about Frank in the end is, what is he fighting for? This season it was [hacker character] Micro, it was family, it was Micro getting his family back.
“The interesting thing for me will always be what he's fighting for as well as what he's fighting against. I don't know what that is yet!
“I think I want to see him continue to struggle,” Bernthal continued.
“In Daredevil season two he's constantly drinking coffee, trying to stay awake. In season one of Punisher we see what happens to him when he sleeps, and what that means: the horrors he has to face.
“I'd love to see that taken further, and how he becomes more and more comfortable. I don't know if he's got headphones on, and he's constantly listening to death metal. I don't know what it is, but what does he do in his everyday life to try and maintain, try to cope?"
However, Bernthal was less keen to see his character return in any other Netflix series, revealing that even future versions of The Defenders – the eight-episode miniseries that saw individual Marvel/Netflix series Iron Fist, Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage cross over – held little appeal.
“Those decisions aren't up to me,” Bernthal said.
“You'd probably know about it before I did - but in all honesty that's not what I'm looking for.
“I want to do this,” he concluded, referring to Lightfoot’s Punisher storytelling. “This is what I'm interested in.”
The Punisher season one is streaming on Netflix now
