With Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Daredevil cancelled, The Punisher and Jessica Jones are the only Marvel shows left on Netflix’s slate. Fans are assuming that these series will be cancelled, as well, but now The Punisher‘s creative team have commented on their future.
Steve Lightfoot, the showrunner behind The Punisher, said this, when asked (by Collider) whether he thinks his show will be cancelled in the same way as Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Daredevil:
“Some of the other shows have gone, but I’m still hoping that we get Season 3. I’m taking the position where, when I made Season 1, it went out and we didn’t know whether we would get a Season 2, but the show obviously did well enough that we got that Season 2 pick-up. So, I’m living optimistically, that we’ll get to go again. We finished the show before any of those cancellations happened. People have said to me, “How do you feel about where the show ends?,” but I ended the show in a place that I hope just makes people feel like, “I can’t wait for Season 3. I still hope that’s the case.”
And, as for season 3 ideas, Lightfoot confirmed that he does have some:
“I do [have ideas], yeah. If they give us the go ahead, we’re ready to jump in, pretty much straight away. I’ve got a pretty good idea about what Season 3 is, and I’m very excited about it.”
Jon Bernthal, who reprised his role as Frank Castle in The Punisher‘s recently released second season, has also been commenting on the future. Speaking to Collider, he was asked about whether this will be his last performance as Frank or if he is hoping for another chance in the role. Here’s what the actor said:
“Yeah, it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be. I get it. You know what I know. Part of the deal with this profession is that you can make a choice and worry about the shit that you can’t control, or you can worry about the shit that you can. For me, all I’ve ever cared about with this project is that I want it to be as good as it can, and I’ll fight to make it as good as I can. It’s not whether we get the chance [to do another season] or not. For me, to put energy into saying that I want it to be this or I want it to be that, that makes no sense. But if we’re doing it, you better believe that I’m gonna put all of my energy into making it good. I like to focus on things I can control, and I certainly cannot control that.”
It sounds like Bernthal is in the dark as much as we are, but he’s taking the wise step of trying not to worry about it.
The Punisher is available on Netflix now, and the Disney+ streaming service is launching later this year. Here’s hoping, if the cancellation axe does swing again, that the latter can provide a new home for the former.