The Punisher TV Show

Thursday, October 20th, 2011 at 7:57 pm Category: Marvel, News, Television, Top

According to Deadline, Fox purchased a television version of The Punisher.

It’s not what you’re thinking though.

It’s not the Punisher we know and love. It’s much more a police procedural with Frank Castle as a New York Cop who moonlights as The Punisher. Purists will be angry.

From the Deadline article:

The Punisher is described as an hour-long procedural with a Marvel signature and a new take on one of the comic book giant’s iconic characters, Frank Castle, a rising star detective with the New York Police Department who moonlights as the vigilante Punisher, seeking justice for those the system has failed.

On some levels, I’m happy about this. I’ve been saying since the very first article on Big Shiny Robot! that marrying an incredibly popular police procedural with a superhero property would bring wider audiences into the fold. Having said that, I still think the Gotham PD works better for that goal. The Punisher isn’t completely unknown and in his many film iterations one of the biggest complaints made across the board was that they weren’t exactly true to the character.

It’s also interesting to note that this is the first time ABC has sold off rights to a Marvel property, even though they’re developing their own shows already. (Remember? Guillermo Del Toro is working on The Hulk.)

So, there isn’t anything shot yet, they’re looking for a pilot. Hopefully we’ll get to see some of this one way or the other.