The Punisher reboot- How would you do it?

[justinsayne]

I was thinking earlier, they're gonna make a new Punisher movie at some point, so (as I beleive I've sad before) why not reboot the franchise and base it off the Punisher MAX series, it would take place in current day, with Frank being a Vietnam vet, who came home watched his family die blah blah blah he's been The Punisher for 30 yrs. now.

I would use the Kingpin & Bullseye arcs as the basis for the movie, as we would see the rise of Kingpin and with the way the arc works Bullseye looking deep into Franks past to find out how he ticks, which would be a fun way to do something I really haven't seen done (at least not properly) in a Punisher movie yet, explore the Frank Castle character more in depth

The end of movie of course would feature a massive fight scene between Castle & Bullseye that should follow the one in the comic book fairly closely

as far as who I'd get to play the role of Frank Castle/Punisher- my first choice would be Jeffery Dean Morgan, the guy has history in making comic book related movies as he played Edward Blake/Comedian in Watchmen & Clay in The Losers, he's about the right age to pull a Vietnam vet, and a pretty good actor, better than say a Gerard Butler (something I wouldn't be shocked to see), I think he could pull this role off nicely and give performance needed.

Bullseye in the Punisher MAX series is a more realistic, non-superpowered version of Bullseye. This version of Bullseye works for the Kingpin and does not wear a costume or possess superpowers, but he is still talented at aiming. An example of the type of charecter I'm looking for- He takes a family hostage after murdering its patriarch, and is shown cheerfully conversing with them at the breakfast table while they are bound, gagged, and crying. After taking the family out for a day at a local park, he has them brutally gunned down by several gunmen. He then reveals that the entire kidnapping was an attempt at getting inside Frank Castle's head, and tells the gunmen that he'll have to try again with another family...So I'm looking for someone who can pull off a pretty fucked up villain, I could see nurmerous people being good for this role a few names to come to mind are Mark Strong (Frank D'Amico in Kick Ass, Lord Blackwood in Sherlock Holmes, Sinestro in the upcoming Green Lantern) the guy has a histroy of playing solid villain roles, Topher Grace, I know people are gonna think I'm ******ed for even suggesting this but he despite what many people think Tophers Eddie Brock/Venom wasn't that bad, as was the sadistic twat he played in Predators, say what you will about the kid but he clearly enjoys playing baddy's in movies and I think he would jump at the oppertunity to play this version of Bullseye, the only issue I have is he's kinda scrawny, & I don't know if he could survive the shear physicality required of some of the one on one fight scenes with Punisher, another choice is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, kid is just an great actor, and I think he could pull off any role he takes

Not sure who I'd cast to play Kingpin as he's such a massively large character

For Director I'm not sure, I'm not really good when it comes to directors tbh, I just want one who is good at dark gritty violence, someone who understands the action scenes in this movie shouldn't be pretty or stylized, and can tell a good story, I think I would go with Florent Emilio Siri (Hostage) Hostage is similar in look & feel to what I would hope this movie to be, so I'm confident he can pull it off

Anyway those would be my ideas for a Punisher reboot, what are yours?

 

[M. Winters]

I'll go outside the box and say that I wouldn't reboot the series. I know Hollywood is on a binge of reboots right now but the first Punisher is only 7 years old and I don't think a reboot would be successful. Don't get me wrong, I was one of the few people who actually enjoyed the Punisher. I know nothing about the series, so as a stand alone piece I enjoyed the storyline and thought Thomas Jane pulled off the depressed/vengeful vigilante well enough. I haven't seen the second installment in the series but I'm sure it wasn't anything special with a direct to DVD release. A reboot of the series wouldn't accomplish much in my opinion. I don't think it would do very well at the box office(the original one shit the bed) and with a movie like this, that would be the only point of it, to make money.

All in all I don't think a reboot is necessary. As a stand alone film the original Punisher was completely satisfying and I think the sequel hurt the product more than helped it as a reboot this early would do as well.

 

[justinsayne]

War Zone was a reboot, it went to theaters and flopped hard, also it was teh third time they've done the movie (Dolph Lungren was the first to star in an ill-fated Punisher movie waaaay back in 1989, it also was a massive failure), Marvel Studios needs to make new Punisher movie every couple years or they lose the rights to the franchise so whether we like it or not it's going to happen, this is the case with most of the comic book properties, every few years they have to do something with them or they lose the rights

Basically this thread is saying "hey we're getting a reboot, this is what I would like to see them do with it..."

 

[JGlass]

I actually really enjoyed the Thomas Jane Punisher, but that's not the point of this thread.

First of all, I would definitely not open with the events that turn Frank Castle into an underground vigilante. All of that would be done through flashbacks, probably at first through many smaller flashbacks and then one big flashback that reveals all. This will add mystery to the character. It would also save me a ton of money in costs for actors, locations, travel, etc.

I don't know if I'd choose a classic Marvel villain for Mr. Castle to set his sites on, but in all likelihood that answer will be yes. I would want it to be someone that is a big name, but is gritty and would make it onto The Punisher's radar, if you will. Basically, a bad guy that has a lot of power, but is also as gritty as The Punisher and is sort of a street-level criminal. For that reason, I'd make the villain Parker Robinson, AKA The Hood. For those who don't know The Hood, he's basically a criminal community organizer; he gathers a bunch of D-list villains and has them work together to accomplish his goals. I can't emphasize enough that these are the bottom of the villain barrel baddies, guys that are maybe just a step above faceless henchmen, but under The Hood's command they turn into a formidable criminal army.

The reason I picked The Hood is because you can make a logical jump to Frank Castle setting his sites on The Hood and his organization, and it will also make for an epic final battle. Perhaps Castle will notice a big crime wave in a certain part of the city, so he'll go to investigate. Eventually he realizes that the crimes are related and that The Hood is trying to expand his criminal empire. He fights his way though the bad guys until he's able to locate The Hood and his headquarters and wage an all out assault.

I'd get rid of some of the mystical stuff with The Hood (he is merged with a Demon that grants him powers), but I'd probably take that and put it into his character another way. Instead of making him bound to a demon, perhaps I'll make him a satanist that, through the power of belief, has tricked himself into thinking he's more powerful than he really is.

Most importantly, I'd make sure that it had a distinctively unhappy ending. Frank Castle will succeed in his task of taking down The Hood, but it will bring him no satisfaction, much like how nothing brings him any satisfaction in the comics. I'll probably have his only friend (I'm thinking using Henry, a boy with a troubled past who wants to use his computer skills to help The Punisher, rather than Microchip) be killed by The Hood, and I want to drive the point home that, while Frank succeeded in his task, all it means is that he's going to be fighting a new group of criminals now, and that he really doesn't feel any sense of accomplishment. The studio will want a happy ending, but fuck it, I saved them a ton of money by cutting most of the opening sequence.

The story would also bring into question the morality of vigilante justice, torture, and the age old "an eye for an eye" policy. Castle will be portrayed as a maniac that is just barely kept in check by the memories of his wife and son, though these memories also have the potential to set him off. This will be much darker than your traditional comic book movie, but it will also be much more interesting.

I don't expect it to sell like The Dark Knight, Spider-Man, Iron Man, or anything of that nature. To be honest, I'd expect it to be received more like The Crow; same gritty nature, a very flawed lead, but much more realistic and probably less artsy. It would have to be a slightly lower budget film, but with the right marketing it could probably make a pretty decent payday... that is, if The Punisher franchise wasn't already destroyed by two poorly received films.

 

[justinsayne]

3 poorly received films, one of which most people don't even know exists. I like where you're going with your idea for a Punisher movie, and it defiantly sounds like something I would enjoy watching, I like dark gritty action, though I am curious as to who you would cast for your key roles (mainly just Frank, & Hood) and who would target for a director

 

[JGlass]

I left out Dolph Lundgren's Punisher because it's so old that most people don't even remember it. Hell, I've never seen it, nor do I plan to.

And I don't know who I'd have direct it... at all. A dream director would be Nolan or Aronofsky, but both are totally unrealistic. Another thought is Ben Affleck, who I thought did great stuff with Gone Baby Gone. David Fincher would be another grand slam signing, but it's fairly unlikely to think the guy who most recently directed The Social Network would want to get involved in a fairly low budget comic book movie. Kevin Smith wouldn't be an awful choice, as he showed he can direct the super dark stuff in Red State and he's also a big time comic book fan. The only worry I'd have with him is keeping his sense of humor out of the film, as there should be next to no humor when dealing with The Punisher. There might be some room for comedy with The Hood and especially within Hood's minions, but not with Frank himself.

As for parts... I also have no idea who I'd want to play the leads. I kind of like the idea of Anton Yelchin playing Henry: young guy, kind of nerdy but can be powerful when he musters up the strength. I like the idea of Joseph Gordon Levitt for The Hood. The Hood is a handsome guy, but he's also cold and calculating, and I think Levitt could be able to play that well. I also have tremendous respect for him as an actor. Another choice would be Adrian Brody. Both of those might be a little too high priced for this film, though. I have no idea who I'd cast as The Punisher, I'd either need to write a script and see where the character took me or I'd need help from a casting director.