The Punisher season 1 premiered late in 2017 as a spinoff from Marvel and Netflix’s Daredevil. Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the second season of Daredevil, acting as a kind of antagonist to Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox). The character, especially Bernthal’s portrayal of him, was well received by fans. As such, Netflix ordered a spinoff surrounding the Marvel Comics vigilante hero.
The Punisher season 1 followed Frank as he dug into the mystery behind the death of his family – his wife, Maria, and two children. The storyline eventually culminated in Frank learning his best friend Billy Russo (Ben Barnes) had betrayed him, and Frank attacking his former friend. The end of the season saw Frank seemingly hanging up his skull-painted vest and washing his hands of Billy Russo. But the story of Frank Castle continues in The Punisher season 2 and fans are eager to see what the next batch of episodes have in store.
Now, Marvel and Netflix have unveiled an official teaser and have possibly confirmed when the new season will debut. A tweet from Netflix’s official Middle East and North Africa Twitter – that has since been deleted – revealed The Punisher season 2 premieres worldwide on Jan. 18, 2019.
Marvel Entertainment released the official The Punisher season 2 teaser trailer, which can be seen below. It features a mysterious figure – though, presumably it’s Frank Castle – taking a lighter to the pardon Castle received in the wake of his season 1 crimes. The ashes form the skull of the Punisher logo and the teaser ends with a simple “Coming Soon” tease.
Back to work. #ThePunisher pic.twitter.com/VFL98VxqJL
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) January 1, 2019
The Punisher teaser trailer doesn’t reveal too much – it doesn’t even appear to include footage from the new season. Instead, it gets fans hyped for season 2 and sets up the fact that Frank Castle is getting back into the vigilante game despite the pardon he received for his previous crimes. While Frank may have avenged his family, he didn’t kill Billy Russo at the end of season 1. So, with Billy Russo, aka. the villain Jigsaw in the Marvel Comics, still alive, it’s likely him and Frank have more scores to settle in season 2. Beyond Billy, Frank will be contending with the religious villain John Pilgrim (Josh Stewart) in season 2, which should take Frank’s story in a different direction.
