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Fox Developing Marvel's 'Frank Castle' The Punisher Television Series!

Fox Developing Marvel's 'Frank Castle' <i>The Punisher</i> Television Series!

Recent reports suggest that Fox has bought a television series for MarvelComics character Frank Castle, better known as 'The Punisher.' For more details, make the jump!

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By DCMarvelFreshman - 10/20/2011


The trades of Variety, among other media outlets, are suggesting that Disney's ABC channel has sold a television series based on famous Marvel comics character Frank Castle, better known as 'The Punisher,' to FOX. Learning only last year that Marvel Studios retained the rights to the character, find out below vaguely what they have planned for the vigilante.

The Punisher is described as an hour-long procedural with a Marvel signature and a new take on one of comic book giant’s iconic characters, Frank Castle, a rising star detective with the NYC Police Department who moonlights as the vigilante Punisher seeking justice for those the system has failed. Bernero will executive produce along with Marvel. This marks the first sale this season and the first one ever outside of ABC for Disney-owned Marvel, which is developing TV series based on its properties through ABC Studios.

With ABC series adaptations of The Incredible Hulk and Jessica Jones under development, it seems Marvel-Disney are making use of owning their characters, going beyond the bigscreen; as well they should. Anyhow, while there's three feature films based on The Punisher, the last of which in 2008, do you think a television series does 'Frank Castle' justice?



Source: Variety
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Moakynubs - 10/20/2011, 5:17 PM
This may actually work really well. Better than the movie, at least.
BooYah - 10/20/2011, 5:19 PM
Awesome, I'd watch it. And I don't watch much T.V.
BooYah - 10/20/2011, 5:19 PM
Wait is this a tv show or tv movie?
PaulRom - 10/20/2011, 5:19 PM
[frick]YES[frick]YES[frick]YES
PaulRom - 10/20/2011, 5:21 PM
the1egend1ives - 10/20/2011, 5:25 PM
Ummm.... that's fine but I hope his family's brutal murder is tied in there somewhere.
BooYah - 10/20/2011, 5:26 PM
Nevermind its been updated.
WolvieCBM - 10/20/2011, 5:28 PM
And so it finally happens. Hopefully they will do a good job with it. Nice find bud.
marvel72 - 10/20/2011, 5:30 PM
@ indoraptor12

i agree,his family has got to be brutally murdered on a family pinic after witnessing a mob killing.

then he becomes a vigilante at night.
SandMan101 - 10/20/2011, 5:30 PM
Should be fun stuff!!
darknight22 - 10/20/2011, 5:38 PM
WTF!!!!! THATS BATMAN!!!!! BILLIONAIRE DURING THE DAY AND THEN BATMAN AT NIGHT!!!! Thats all their doing, and I don't see this series lasting long, i'm sorry but thats what it sounds like to me.....
ALmighty1080 - 10/20/2011, 5:41 PM
Fox? this should be on AMC or HBO something that would allow for some actual violence to be shown. the summary doesnt really sound like its about him getting revenge for his family either. Human target take 2.
tazmaniak - 10/20/2011, 5:44 PM
I'm bummed this won't be on an ABC channel like the other Marvel live action shows.That lessens any chances of crossovers.I've got to say The Third Watch was one of my favorite shows of the past decade, so Bernero seems like a good person for the show.It does seem like they're not going to make Frank a ruthless killer, though.Just a regular vigilante.
SHHH - 10/20/2011, 5:47 PM
Pass.... It's Abc...
Marikina - 10/20/2011, 5:51 PM
@ALmighty1080: Fox had a guy named Jack Bauer doing his thing for 9 years. I'm concerned for this show getting cancelled 6 episodes in when it doesn't light the world on fire, or the numerous techniques of sabotage Fox is known to perpetrate.

@tazmaniak: The pitch make it sound like Dexter, only not as creepy.
soberchimera - 10/20/2011, 5:53 PM
FOX?!? Really? They cancel everything. It would have better luck on HBO or Showtime.
Gmoney84 - 10/20/2011, 5:56 PM
Fx hasn't canceled sons of anarchy.
spideyboy - 10/20/2011, 5:57 PM
Sounds great, but I would probably watch it if it were on HBO
themayer88 - 10/20/2011, 5:59 PM
Awesome. if its on FX itl be a good show. if its on FOX itl suck.
patriautism - 10/20/2011, 5:59 PM
This could be flipping awesome.
Wentworth Miller is my choice for a new Frank Castle..
GreendaleHumanBeing - 10/20/2011, 6:00 PM
i dont understand the buisness move behind disney selling the show to fox. abc's ratings have been awful since 2005. selling a project to a competitor is an odd thing to do. can someone explain why this isnt going to be on the aplhabet network?
CaptainAmerica - 10/20/2011, 6:01 PM
Yes please!
jjmeylar - 10/20/2011, 6:01 PM
NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
MaddMonkk - 10/20/2011, 6:02 PM
This is going to be watered down, but with shows like Person Of Interest and CSI being as graphic as they are it may be alright.
tazmaniak - 10/20/2011, 6:02 PM
Is Marvel TV actively involved in this series?I mean, this is the first we've heard of it.Jeph Loeb gave an update on their in development series just last week at NYCC and he didn't say anything at all about a Punisher series.

He did say those shows may not be the only thing they were working on, but this show already has a network and an executive producer.They had to have been working on this for a little while.Kinda makes me think they'll have less control/involvement with the series.
CaptainAmerica - 10/20/2011, 6:02 PM
Greendale, cuz they already have 4 shows lined up, 2 of which will be on ABC, so instead of shelving him they are making money by selling the rights and giving fans a chance to see him in action.
BluntForce - 10/20/2011, 6:04 PM
If not HBO or Showtime (Where it should be) then at least put it on Spike or even FX
DEATHbyEXILE - 10/20/2011, 6:04 PM
95 - 10/20/2011, 6:04 PM
I don't have a TV...
GreendaleHumanBeing - 10/20/2011, 6:05 PM
@CaptainAmerica i understand they will make money through licensing fees. but if fox scores a hit with punisher (whether it winds up on fox or fx), then abc/disney do not gain additional money. the punisher being grounder in reality more-so than the other projects makes it far more likely to gain a tv audience. it would be worth more to use as a backup plan and wait and see if they need to act on it.
DaRaginScotsman - 10/20/2011, 6:06 PM
Crossing my fingers for Jon Hamm to get the part.
SHHH - 10/20/2011, 6:06 PM
AMC
95 - 10/20/2011, 6:07 PM
Frank gets onscreen justice! Bring on a good Punisher series... to HULU. Please! I want to see this!
Hardfelt - 10/20/2011, 6:09 PM
Hard to imagien how they will deal witht he vilance pretext of the character without compromising. That said, the vengence aspect of The Punishers origin story is great fodder for - dare I say it - a "Family angle". His vigilantism is certainly apropos of the times.
kevberg - 10/20/2011, 6:10 PM
mark valley as frank !
tazmaniak - 10/20/2011, 6:11 PM
@GreendaleHumanBeing, I think they're selling it to Fox because it doesn't really fit on ABC.ABC mostly develops serialized shows and shows that tend to attract a female audience.

Look at their shows.Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Revenge, Once Upon A Time and Pan Am.Serialized and female driven/friendly.

Jessica Jones and The Hulk fall into those categories.Jessica Jones will be a serialized crime series with a female lead and The Hulk will also be a serialized sci-fi series framed by a love story.

The Punisher is a procedural crime series with a male vigilante as the lead.That's not an ABC series.It's more of a Fox series.

With Jessica Jones and The Hulk in development, it also makes sense that ABC doesn't really want 3 separate Marvel superhero shows.
CaptainAmerica - 10/20/2011, 6:15 PM
Greendale, well we don't know what the contract says, they might make more money depending on how many seasons they make and/or how active Disney are with production. They obviously have faith in what they're doing and Hulk is a way more well known character than Punisher. They're thinking about the now, not the future and what they want now is money.
Ghostt - 10/20/2011, 6:15 PM
@ DArknight22 saying Punisher is a rip off of Batman is crazy talk. he wears no mask and shoots people in the face--he's the anti-Batman

anyway, naming the show 'Frank Castle' is a fail because Frank Castle died when his family was killed and he became the Punisher. 3 failed movies, now they can rape him on TV. The only way to make this good is too get into the psychology of vigilantism and dealing with the murder of ones family.

...and shooting people in the face
BatSlam - 10/20/2011, 6:19 PM
its to bad they sound like they are changing the story around so much, moonlighting as the punisher is lame. I would rather stick with the story, each season or half season could be him in a different city taking down a different crime family. That would be sweet. no need to change around the punisher.
tazmaniak - 10/20/2011, 6:20 PM
@Intruder, yes it says they're co-producing, but in what capacity?Is it in name only or are they creatively involved?It's Marvel's property, so they have to have a producer credit, but is that the extent?

Loeb just gave the update 5 days ago.If they were working on a Punisher series that was about 5 days from being sold, you'd think that would have been something he'd mention.
sexfoodcomics - 10/20/2011, 6:24 PM
Boooo!! should have sold it to AMC. They are the only channel that is respectable on TV and isn't scared to break the rules.
SpiderManofHouseStark - 10/20/2011, 6:27 PM
stop ur complaining ... this could work very well
Luigi - 10/20/2011, 6:27 PM
[frick] YES!!!!!!!!!!! Punisher needs to be a TV series. Hope it will be Showtime or HBO
kevberg - 10/20/2011, 6:28 PM
It's such a easy sell. theres really very little cgi ...all you need is Good Writing, Lots of Squibs, Guns and a explosion here and there....


Punisher is probably the best bet Marvel could have on TV.

Not Fond of making a police procedural with Franks origin being altered...but maybe they won't alter it much.


If done right it could be the next "24" only more violent.
jallanr - 10/20/2011, 6:29 PM
this is awesome!! I am really excited for this, and I think selling it to Fox will prove to be a smart choice. And yea, they are changin the origin around a lil, but it seems alright, and it'll be nice to see something new! This should be awesome!

woo hoo!!!
SugarYumYum - 10/20/2011, 6:35 PM
... FOX? -_- This has like a 9 out of 10 chance of being cancelled five episodes in. The only sure bet of survival is to put it on FX.
Gunslinger - 10/20/2011, 6:35 PM
So... they're doing a Nightwing series but calling it "The Punisher".

"Moonlights as the vigilante Punisher seeking justice for those the system has failed."

WTF? Frank Castle sees the system as flawed and broken.He would not work for a system that doesn't work and that failed to punish the people that murdered his family! A system that lets killers go free, or go to prison where they have their cozy little cells with cable tv and shit... and get off for good behavior after 5 years.

Why not make a tv series based on the comics in the 90s? Some great stories that could be used from that time.... Frank as a substitue teacher to get to high-school drug dealers, infiltrating a mercenary training camp to eliminate criminals, getting arrested to get to someone in prison and then escaping... even the Garth Ennis run. Do a series with self-contained episodes with a larger story-arc that connects it all. Why does it have to be toned and dumbed down?

Seriously, the character has potential, but he has been [frick]ed up the arse so many times that it's becoming a joke. And Fox will probably do it as well. Without lubricant.
wbrowning79 - 10/20/2011, 6:36 PM
Don't be hatin on me fellas. But I think Sylvester Stallone would be a good choice for Frank Castle.
Cerebro - 10/20/2011, 6:37 PM
This sounds great, but thats all. To make him moonlight as the punisher at night kills any chance at this being the Punisher that we all would want to see. This will fail, and it's such a shame.
DocMartin09 - 10/20/2011, 6:38 PM
Ill watch it because I love the Punisher but I don't see this as working out well.
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