The Punisher, which returns for season two on Netflix January 18th, released a trailer yesterday that details the past of Frank Castle and what viewers can expect in the new episodes.
Infamous for his bloody brutality, The Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal, rescues Amy Bendix, who he saves from being attacked in a bar. The two talk, and find out their pasts are not so different.
During their conversation in the trailer, Bendix notes Castle’s predisposition to violence, stating, “It’s almost like you were happy for the excuse,” referring to the massacre. Castle responds in equal measure, questioning why Bendix was being attacked in the first place: “Who are those people? … I think you’re hiding something.” From here, viewers learn that Bendix and Castle both came from dark pasts full of trauma, as both had lost their families to brutal violence. “They killed everybody I’ve ever cared about,” Bendix confided in Castle, “How do you think that feels?”
Billy Russo, known as Jigsaw, is also introduced as the main villain for the new season and through intercut scenes, it is clear that this season will focus heavily on the backstory behind the characters. “I dream about the Punisher every night,” Billy (Ben Barnes) says in the trailer. “He thinks he has the right to judge me. I want him to feel what I felt.” Even the choice of song reflects this look-back into the past, with Alice in Chains’ “Would” playing in the background: “Same old trip it was back then. So I made a big mistake, try to see it once my way.”
The trailer reiterates a constant theme of bloodlust rooted in the past. At the end of the trailer, Bendix asks Castle “What if Billy kills you?” to which Castle responds, “I’m not the one who dies, kid. I’m the one who does the killing.”
The series is executive produced by Steve Lightfoot, Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory, and is set to be released by ABC Studios on Netflix.