Marvel’s televisual output has always been somewhat of a mixed bag. Hits such as Daredevil and Jessica Jones are counterbalanced by failures like Inhumans and Iron Fist. The TV shows just can’t quite seem to reach the same levels of consistency and audience engagement as the movies, but there are some standout successes. Agents of SHIELD now appears assured to return for a sixth season, and the runaway success of The Punisher immediately earned the show a quick renewal, with the first photos from filming arriving online this week.
Season One ended with Frank Castle having finally achieved the vengeance he craved for his family’s murder. With the corrupt Homeland agents behind their deaths now killed, and a hideously disfigured Billy Russo lying in a coma, Castle seemed to have achieved some small semblance of peace in his life. Which raised the question about where the show would now take him for further seasons.
Given the heavy reliance on material from the iconic Punisher MAX imprint for Season One’s episodes it looked likely that the new series might follow an established MAX storyline such as The Slavers, or Kitchen Irish. But casting calls that have since come to light point to an older, 616 story called Suicide Run. In that storyline, Frank is seriously injured when he blows up a building full of crime bosses. He winds up recovering in a small town in rural Ohio, whilst a number of copycats vow to take his place back in New York.
Giorgia Whigham (The Orville) has been announced to play a character on the show named Amy Bendix, who is described as a streetwise young kid. She features on the first set photos that have now surfaced from the the filming of Season Two, apparently being escorted somewhere by Jon Bernthal’s bruised and battered Frank Castle. The large kitbag slung over Castle’s shoulder, and his facial injuries would seem to suggest that the peace he found didn’t last too long, and he has been forced into the role of protector for the vulnerable Bendix.
In terms of the big bad guy for Season 2, Russo’s hideously scarred Jigsaw is sure to make an appearance at some point, and there’s also the intriguing new character of John Pilgrim, played by Josh Stewart (Shooter). Teased as a man with a dark past who gets pulled back into Castle’s orbit, he sounds suspiciously like a new version of MAX villain, The Mennonite. A former hitman with a flair for hand to hand combat, he found religion, but ends up pitted against the vigilante after his wife passes away.
Season 2 of Marvel’s The Punisher is expected to arrive sometime in 2019.