Jeph Loeb Squashes Punisher Spin-Off Reports

Punisher spin-off not official just yet

Last month, it was reported that streaming site Netflix was very close to green lighting a spin-off of Marvel’s Daredevil focusing on Jon Bernthal’s character Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher. Now, however, Marvel’s Head of Television Jeph Loeb says that it may not be so.

“I think that’s something that people are speculating on, as opposed to something that’s actually happening,” Loeb told Digital Spy. “It’s certainly our hope that any of our characters will be embraced and that people want to see more of them.”

Loeb did admit to being surprised by the renewal of Marvel’s Jessica Jones, meaning perhaps a Punisher spin-off if still in the cards.

“When they announced that Jessica Jones was getting a second season, every single report said, ‘It should come as a surprise to no one that Jessica Jones has received a second season order.’ I’m the guy going, ‘Well, it was a surprise to me!’ It isn’t a given in television. The fact that we get to continue telling stories with these characters speaks a lot about the quality of the storytelling and the acting and the writing. We are telling the best stories that we can at Netflix, and they seem to be responding to it.”

Bernthal will make his debut as the gun-toting vigilante in the second season of Marvel’s Daredevil.

“I can tell you that this guy, horrible tragic things happen, and we will see how he goes through that,” he previously said. “The effect the other characters have on him will push him certain directions. I think once you see these characters collide, it’s tremendously interesting and emotionally gripping as well. It’s going to be a special season. If you thought last season of Daredevil was dark, we’re going to a whole new place.”

Marvel’s Daredevil Season 2 will premiere worldwide on Netflix March 18.