As you probably know, Thomas Jane pulled out of The Punisher sequel because he didn’t want to be part of a movie that he didn’t believe in. The search began for a Frank Castle replacement, and LatinoReview are now reporting that Ray Stevenson (HBO’s Rome) has been cast in The Punisher 2. The timing of this casting rumor seems to fit. Comic-Con is next week and Marvel were probably prepping a surprise announcement at the Con.
I must admit, I was not a fan of the first film. In fact, a friend and I walked out of the film at just about an hour in. I’ve heard the film gets better in the second half, but I wouldn’t know because I’ve never seen it. It’s too bad too because the recent revamp of The Punisher comic book series is pretty good, and could make a series of great films if done right. Jane was supposedly a big fan of the comic. His walk-out is probably a good indication of the quality of the script. So I don’t expect the sequel to be any better.
And as for Ray Stevenson - I never got into HBO’s Rome despite the recommendation of many people. May-be some of our commentors can speak about his abilities and potential in the role of Frank Castle.
July 22nd, 2007 at 3:03 am
Interesting casting! I like his work in Rome, cant see him as Frank Castle just yet, but i think he has the ability to pull it off…! Fingers crossed!
P.S. i wonder if this comment will actually appear… I’ve posted a few recently that never appear!
July 22nd, 2007 at 4:27 am
Great casting! Based on Rome and some of the other stuff I’ve seen him in, I think he could really pull this off better than Jane. I’m not sure what problems Jane had with the script, because in some of the things I’ve read, it sounds like they’re trying to bring the new one more in line with the original comic.
I’m pleased with the choice.
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:23 am
This is not good ppl. Thomas Jane is a HUGE Punisher fan and good freinds with Tim Bradstreet (illustrates the the covers of the Punisher Max series). For him to pull out of this movie tells me one thing, The script/story does not reflect the true nature of the Punisher. The Punisher in a nutshell is a serial killer. He is not a pg-13 character nor does he fall in love (well rarely). Spiderman will web sling you and send you to the police. The Punisher will skin you alive and light your corpse on fire. I garauntee the next Punisher movie sucks balls. I’ve been reading the the comic for some time now and Garth Ennis has turned the Punisher into an absolute badass. Hey if your gonna screw up an awsome franchise, wy not go whole hog and call up Dolph Lundgren?
July 22nd, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Mr Stevenson is a far better actor than Mr. Jane. They traded up.
July 23rd, 2007 at 9:18 pm
i like what peno says, the comic is really good, especially in the older days, this needs to be R rated, and a decent villian to pull it off
November 29th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
I’ve been a fan of the Punisher for a long time and was glad to see the title get a revival over at Marvel. That said however I was disapointed with the first film. I never connected to “Castle’s” silver screen persona like I did with the comics. Jane, the writers, and the director just never nailed Castle’s dark personality, and the dark enjoyment he takes in punishing his victims. Then the cramming of popular stories from the series in one movie didn’t help either. (It failed with Dardevil, Electra, and the Fantastic Four movies). Spider-man worked because time was taken to develop the characters, you cared about Peter Parker, Mary Jane, and Aunt May - and Toby did a great job making me believe he was Parker. Thomas Jane never did that for me.
For some reason they must feel they have a really good script and can fix what was wrong with the first Punisher movie by doing a second. If that is indeed the case I hope newcomer Ray Stevenson seriously delve into the psyc of Frank Castle. Because the revenge/vigilante thing has been done so much that it is about who can do it better on screen.
Good luck Mr. Stevenson - I may take the chance and go see it when it is released. But I’m reluctant because I really don’t want to see another one of my adolescent comic book character poorly played.