While there might have been slightly bigger announcements at the Marvel panel for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, the vast majority were either open secrets (Joss Whedon directing The Avengers) or largely confirmed rumours (Mark Ruffalo as the new Bruce Banner). But Marvel honcho Kevin Feige did have one genuinely unexpected titbit of news to offer: the company has snagged The Punisher back.
“Frank Castle is under the roof of Marvel Studios now and we hope to bring him into the fray shortly," is how Feige framed it, answering a fan’s question during the Thor panel.
Given that Castle has been through three previous cinematic incarnations, with none of them seeming to make much of a dent in the box office, we can but hope that Marvel’s effort might actually be a little bit more successful – and that maybe he’ll one day end up interacting with some of the other characters on the company’s roster.
Marvel really does seem to be building a complicated little empire – with Jeremy Renner brought out as Hawkeye in the Avengers panel, the list of heroes making the leap to the big screen just keeps on growing.
Can Frank Castle be saved from the purgatory of disappointment? And just who should play him next? Thoughts? Opinions?