While ABC is developing Marvel’s “The Hulk” and “AKA Jessica Jones,” Fox is betting big on a pilot script for “The Punisher” from Ed Bernero, whose other creations include NBC’s “Third Watch” and last season’s aborted CBS spin-off “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior.”
Introduced in a 1974 issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, The Punisher is actually Frank Castle, a murderous vigilante and former Marine who employs heavy artillery and torture in an effort to avenge the mob murders of his wife and kids.
In Bernero’s proposed TV version, Castle will be a young NYPD detective who solves crimes by day and acts as vigilante by night.
Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, The Punisher has been depicted in a 1989 straight-to-video feature titled “The Punisher” starring Dolph Lundgren. A 2004 “The Punisher” movie starred Thomas Jane as Castle and the 2008 “Punisher: War Zone” starred Ray Stevenson.
Find Deadline’s story on the matter here.
