With Daredevil premiering on Netflix, Marvel has officially launched its Defenders story line, which will be connected to the shared Marvel Cinematic Universe in one way or another. A couple of weeks ago Jon Bernthal was confirmed to play the role of The Punisher in Daredevil season 2, but now new reports say that he will act as the nemesis of the protagonist.
Initial rumors about Daredevil season 2 suggested the debut of not only The Punisher, but Elektra, Daredevil's lover, and Bullseye as well. Elektra's appearance is more than certain, but unfortunately it looks more likely that Bullseye will be missing from the follow-up of the 1st season.
As it was reported by numerous sites, Jason Statham was interviewed for the role of Bullseye, but talks between him and the studio ultimately went south. Statham confirmedly won't appear in any role in the Marvel Universe with the fate of the character Bullseye remaining in limbo.
Probably this development led to the decision to make The Punisher the (main?) antagonist in season 2. Those who haven't read the comics or haven't seen the two not-so-popular movies should know that The Punisher is not exactly a lovable hero. On the contrary, he is even far from an antihero, being more of a sociopath. His code of killing everyone who commits violent crimes against innocents is opposite of Daredevil's "no kill code" - even though the Man Without Fear essentially likes to beat the hell out of the bad guys to serve justice.
With this in mind everything is set for the clash between The Punisher and Daredevil.
The casting of Jon Bernthal makes even more sense now that The Punisher may be the baddie of season 2. Bernthal successfully portrayed Shane Walsh in The Walking Dead, a character that had a very similar personality to The Punisher's. However it's highly unlikely that The Punisher will remain as the lone villain of the season.
First of all something has to happen in New York in the beginning of the season to make The Punisher go to the city, so there may be a minor baddie from the comics appearing at the start. With a potential solo Punisher TV show also in mind, as the season goes on a new truly evil character should rise from the depth of New York against which The Punisher and Daredevil would have to unite their strength.
The 2nd season will premiere sometime in 2016. Charlie Cox, who played the main hero Daredevil will return and Rosario Dawson will also be back as nurse Claire Temple reportedly in a bigger role than in season 1.
