If you’re a Jon Bernthal fanatic, you know The Punisher Netflix series has already started filming in New York. Due to the scheduling of The Defenders and Iron Fist, The Punisher wasn’t originally expected to release until 2018 -- Marvel usually only releases two shows on Netflix per year. However, with the announcement of five new cast members comes news The Punisher will also release sometime in 2017.
In addition to the roles of Micro (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Jigsaw (played by Ben Barnes) and a new character named Dinah Madani (played by Amber Rose Revah) announced a few weeks ago, Marvel has confirmed five other characters, some who may be familiar to fans.
Daniel Webber (11.22.63) has been cast as Lewis Walcott, a young veteran who has had a difficult time re-assimilating into Civilian Society.
Jason R. Moore (A Lonely Place for Dying) joins as Curtis Hoyle, a friend of Frank Castle’s and one of the few people who knows he is alive.
Paul Schulze (Nurse Jackie) will play Rawlins, a high-ranking member of the CIA whose operations in Afghanistan intersect with Frank Castle.
Jaime Ray Newman (Bates Motel) plays Sarah Lieberman, Micro’s wife (played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach) whose marriage has made her life far more complicated.
Michael Nathanson (The Knick) has been cast as Sam Stein, a Homeland agent who is challenged by his partnership with Dinah (Amber Rose Revah).
There are two names who may be familiar to hardcore Punisher fans. The first is Curtis Hoyle, an Army lieutenant that Frank Castle met in Vietnam. After the war, Hoyle joined a drug ring called ‘The Rockhouse Operation’ run by ‘The General,’ a member of the South Vietnamese Army. The Punisher posed as a dealer and attacked Rockhouse men, killing both The General and Curtis Hoyle.
The second familiar name is Rawlins. First name William in the comics, a corrupt CIA officer. Frank encountered Rawlins in Russia and tortured him, popped out his eyebal and made him confess to war crimes.
Deborah Ann Woll will also reprise her role as Daredevil’s Karen Page. She and Frank became very close over the course of Daredevil Season 2. She is one of the only people The Punisher trusts, and she has empathy for his cause being the one to discover his family was murdered by a suspicious sting-o. Last we saw Karen, she found out Matt Murdock’s secret identity. We have yet to see her reaction on screen. The next time we’ll see her on screen with Daredevil could be in The Defenders, which releases before Daredevil Season 3. It’ll be interesting to see how her story arc grows in The Punisher, which doesn’t have a specific release date yet. Neither does the The Defenders. Iron Fis t releases March 17, 2017.
