The Fox network has ordered a pilot for an hour-long procedural TV series based on Marvel comic “The Punisher” reports Deadline.
This new take on the vigilante tale recasts Frank Castle as a rising star detective with the New York Police Department who moonlights as the vigilante Punisher, seeking justice for those the system has failed.
Former “Criminal Minds” showrunner Ed Bernero, Marvel and ABC Studios will produce the show. Bernero also has the supernatural western “The Eye” setup at ABC.
Three previous film adaptations of the ‘Punisher’ property have been attempted – a 1989 film with Dolph Lundgren, a 2004 film with Thomas Jane and John Travolta, and a 2008 sequel/reboot “Punisher: War Zone” with Ray Stevenson.
All three films were critically slammed, the most successful was the 2004 version which pulled in $ 54.7 million from a very modest $ 15 million budget.