With The Defenders come and gone as a relative success for the Netflix branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s time to look ahead to Phase 2 of the streaming and superhero giants’ partnership. That’s set to start off with a very loud bang later this year when the anticipated The Punisher series starring Jon Bernthal debuts. Though an official release date has yet to be announced, the show’s first trailer has just been revealed.
Soundtracked by Metallica’s classic “One”, the trailer does a fair job summing up Frank Castle’s (Bernthal) basic story arc: A former CIA special ops agent comes home to his family only to have them slaughtered in front of him. With elite training and a veritable arsenal at his disposal, Castle becomes the Punisher to embark on a one-man war against the corrupt government and criminal forces who have destroyed his world — only to discover a conspiracy with far graver implications. The trailer focuses more on Castle’s brutal and relentless tactics than teasing many of the periphery characters, though we do get a good introduction to Castle’s partner, Microchip (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). There’s also a brief glimpse at a pre-nickname Jigsaw (Ben Barnes), and it appears Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), who befriended Castle in Daredevil season two, will play a role in this solo outing.
And yes, it looks like there will be a hallway fight. Check out the trailer above.