Netflix Orders Full Season of Marvel's 'The Punisher'

Marvel's beloved vigilante the Punisher will soon be the focus of his own Netflix series after actor Jon Bernthal awed fans with his portrayal of the anti-hero on the second season of Daredevil. Netflix and Marvel confirmed they have green lit a full season of The Punisher, with Bernthal reprising the role of Frank Castle in the spinoff series.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, despite the Punisher's less-than-stellar success translating to the big screen, Netflix had been at work on creating a Bernthal-led Punisher series since January, nearly two months before the second season of Daredevil premiered.

Hannibal producer Steve Lightfoot will serve as showrunner on the latest Marvel series. "For me, the complexity and unpredictability of Frank Castle make him an incredibly compelling character and I couldn’t be more excited to dive into his world," Lightfoot said in a statement. “After watching Jon’s performance in Marvel's Daredevil I could not be more excited to be working with him to further develop and progress the story of this anti-hero in a show of his own."

It's unclear whether the series will pick up where the Daredevil series left off, if it would serve as the character's origin story or if producers would tackle one of the Punisher's more fan favorite storylines like War Journal, The Slavers or its 1985 limited series. A premiere date was not revealed.

The Punisher joins comic book-turned-Netflix series for Daredevil, Jessica Jones, the upcoming Luke Cage (due out September 30th), the in-production Iron Fist and the superhero crossover series The Defenders.

The skull-suited, arsenal-toting hero has previously been seen in theaters in the form of a 1989's The Punisher starring Dolph Lundgren in the title role, 2004's The Punisher with Thomas Jane and 2008's Punisher: War Zone with Ray Stevenson. All three struggled at the box office and were savaged by critics, although War Zone has gained a cult following from Punisher fans thanks to its graphic violence and its reverence to the tone of the comic.