Fans are finally getting their Frank Castle project with Punisher: One Last Kill. The Mary Sue talked to Reinaldo Marcus Green about the buzz around the Special Presentation.
Our Rachel Leishman interviewed the filmmaker about his turn with Jon Bernthal’s Marvel hero. Keeping Frank Castle true to those comics roots was important. For Green, Bernthal, and all of their collaborators, this was a major goal. But, they also wanted to emphasize the on-screen journey this man has been thorough.
Punisher has seen some things, and it’s all beginning to catch-up with him. However, that mental precarity is an asset for a filmmaker. Everything from Frank’s past is up for grabs. And, that’s exciting! There’s a lot of room for reflection there for fans and for the people behind the camera.
“Yeah, it’s all about the fandom, and hopefully giving them something that they want to see, and that they could latch onto,” Green explained. “So, with this special, there’s obviously an unreliable narrator. We had the ability to bring back characters that we’ve seen before in ways that I think are fun and surprising.”
“Then, you don’t know… Are they real or are they not real?,” he pondered. “So, I think we’re questioning ourselves, throughout the piece, on purpose. Which, I think plays into his psychological state and where we find him.”
Punisher: One Last Kill brings in faces from Marvel comics
One of the details that people got really excited about when this Special Presentation was announced is the villain. Ma Gnucci is played by Judith Light and she’s an outsized presence in this piece. Her standing across from Jon Bernthal is nothing short of electric.
It’s a great pull from the comics. But, more importantly, it’s a showcase for these talented actors. So, everyone wins when Light meets up with Bernthal. The brutality and lack of warmth is kind of the point here. And, Punisher: One Last Kill leans all the way into that dynamic.
“But, Ma Gnucci is just such a fun character for the comics. And, we loved it, and obviously having Judith Light come on and dance with us on this one was so much fun. Seeing her play with John and spit in his face.”
“I mean, it’s just nasty, gross and amazing. They really went there!… We want to pay homage to the comics. But, also make our own thing. And, hopefully the special stands alone in it. In its own way! The Ma Gnucci character was just so much fun. And, obviously hopefully a wink to Barracuda and whatever can come from that in the future of the MCU.”
For Punisher fans new and old
With all this talk about keeping the returning Punisher fans in mind, some thought has been extended to newcomers as well. It’s nice for them to consider Marvel fans who missed out on the Netflix shows. (We promise, they exist!) But, have grown to be more curious about these characters.
“John really built this character in that special way through a lot of that military kind of support that he had early on,” Green revealed. “And, then when I came into it, it was really about building the cinematic language to help bring the story to life!”
“How do we open it up to people that are non-Punisher fans or people that don’t know the Punisher?,” he added. “And, where does this live, and how do we cinematically bring this to a larger audience? I think that was the balance between our relationship, and I love John for the man that he is.”
(featured image: Disney+)
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