'The Punisher' Spin-Off Series In Development At Netflix

When Netflix started their relationship with Marvel Studios, their slate was quite ambitious. The streaming service struck a deal for series adaptations of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, all leading up to an assembly of The Defenders. However, it sounds like one more Marvel series may enter the equation, and it's all because of the second season of Daredevil.

Jon Bernthal will be playing Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, in the second season of the first Marvel series to debut on Netflix, and apparently the streaming service and Marvel are so happy with the character that they're already developing a spin-off series for the vigilante. Find out more below!TV Line was the first to report on The Punisher series, but it sounds like it's still early in development. After all, the second season of Daredevil doesn't premiere on Netflix until March, so we have some time before fans get to know Bernthal as The Punisher. But the buzz behind the scenes on Bernthal's take on the character has been pretty positive, and that's why there's talk of him getting his own series.

The Punisher is one of those Marvel characters that fans have wanted to see enter the Marvel cinematic universe for awhile. Many hoped it would be on the big screen, but putting the grittier character in the more grounded, intimate settings of the TV shows on Netflix is probably a smarter move at this point. And since all the Marvel Studios projects share a universe, he can always come to the movie world eventually.

As for what you can expect from this new version of The Punisher, EW recently spoke with Bernthal about the character, and this is what the actor said about how he sees Castle:

"As a man who put his on the line and really went through the ultimate sacrifice for this country in his involvement in the military. He's a guy who brought the war home with him [in] the worst possible way. There are a lot of iterations of this character and in all of them it's a man who's gone through this unbelievable trauma and what's interesting about our take on him is how this trauma reshapes his own philosophy."

And it sounds like the character will be just as dark as fans want him to be. Bernthal also said:

"With Frank, what was important was the emptiness inside him. He's dealing with this unbelievable loss. There's unbelievable anger and hatred and shame. There's a sense of responsibility and as a father and husband, if I were to lose my family on my watch ... I had to put myself in as dark of place as possible the last six months."

We'll see just how dark The Punisher gets when the second season of Daredevil starts streaming on March 18th. In the meantime, stay tuned to see how quickly The Punisher series comes together at Netflix.