The Punisher is 2017’s final Marvel/Netflix offering, and after Iron Fist’s disappointing first season and the underwhelming Defenders debut, it’s up to Frank Castle to take the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s dark corner to new heights. At this point, we don't know what this first season will be about, but we certainly have high expectations.
Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle was the best thing about Daredevil’s second season. There’s no reason to believe that his solo series won't work, especially since Deborah Ann Woll will reprise her role as Karen Page, whose delightful scenes with the anti-hero shed light on how Castle's mind worked.
C.B. Cebulski, Marvel’s Senior Vice President of Creation and Content Development, has provided us with yet another reason to be excited about The Punisher. According to Cebulski, an additional Marvel hero will appear during the first season.
Of course, it could be Daredevil. Castle did tell Murdock that he’d see him around, and no other hero among the Defenders has had a close encounter with The Punisher.
Fans speculate that Marvel might use The Punisher to introduce another fan-favorite superhero. The teaser-trailer revealed that the show will feature flashbacks to Castle's military days. This could be an opportunity to introduce a superhero with a similar background.
C.B. Cebulski might have been teasing Marc Spector, although there hasn’t been a single hint that Netflix and Marvel have any such plan. We can say that, given the recent announcement that Disney and Netflix will part ways in 2019 (without discontinuing any already-confirmed titles), maybe we should disregard this rumor about the Moon Knight.
But that would be quite a major surprise.