Once Frank Castle discovered the nifty hidden weapons room in the rear of the Blacksmith’s weapon shack, all doubt was eliminated from the question of a standalone Punisher series. From there, it was only a matter of figuring out who would become the target of Jon Bernthal’s PTSD-infused code of vengeance.
According to TVLine, that role will go to Ben Barnes, who is probably best known for playing the titular Prince Caspian in the unceremoniously abandoned Narnia series. Barnes will reportedly play “corrupt crime prodigy” Bobby Saint, who will presumably make it farther than the character did in the 2004 Thomas Jane-starring Punisher film, which saw young Robert gunned down in the opening scene. Narnia royalty aside, Barnes does have some indirect experience as an antagonist, albeit on the foppish side, as immortal playboy/bad boy Dorian Gray in the 2009 film.
No word yet on how his Saint will menace Frank Castle (our money is on some sort of menacingly symbiotic game of cat-and-mouse), or how New York will come to grips with their deadly vigilante-in-residence, seeing as trying him in court and incarcerating him ended in colossal blood baths. It’s not likely we’ll get the answers to those questions soon, seeing as Netflix is already busy with its slate of current Marvel projects. Luke Cage stomps indestructibly through his enemies later this month, followed by Iron Fist and The Defenders in 2017. A second and third round with Jessica Jones and Daredevil, respectively, aren’t expected before 2018.