It looks like "The Punisher" will not be making an appearance on "The Defenders."
As the premiere of "The Punisher" draws near, details are starting to come out why Frank Castle operates as a lone wolf and not join forces with the superhero group The Defenders. This was an intentional move by the Marvel team. They toyed with the idea when they were writing the series "The Punisher" for Netflix.
Steven Lightfoot, showrunner of "The Punisher," in his interview with Syfy, discussed the personal history of Frank Castle and the struggle of adapting a character like him for television. Lightfoot added that "The Punisher" as a stand-alone TV show was a happy accident, and it was their decision to deviate the character from joining The Defenders.
He said, "When I came in to take the show on, it was always very clear to me that they wanted it to sort of tell its own story and run on its own track and bot really intersect with what was happening in 'The Defenders.' That was part of the brief." He also added that the concept of "The Defenders" will focus only on those four heroes and that he was supposed to focus on telling The Punisher's story separate from The Defenders.
Lightfoot's statements make sense up to a certain point. Appearing in 1974 in the issue #129 of "Spider-Man," Frank Castle came before the wave of anti-heroes and psychologically scarred heroes from the 1980's comic book scene. His character has always been depicted to be a solo operator especially when dealing with his own problems like hunting down his family's murderers.
"The Punisher" having his own series and storyline explored says a lot about the fans' interest in the character's journey. The success of the show will be determined by its supporters.
"The Punisher" starts on Friday, Nov. 17, on Netflix.
