A Whole Mess of Punisher 2 Details
The man with the skull on his chest is coming back.
Critics used it as a piñata and it grossed less than $35 million in American theaters, its director and star pulled out of the sequel, and the world in general seems to have quickly forgotten about 2004's The Punisher -- but it was still better than 1989's Punisher (starring Dolph Lundgren!), which is probably reason enough for Lionsgate to keep pushing ahead with plans for The Punisher 2.
IGN Movies has collected a bunch of information about the sequel, from stuff we already know -- like who's taking over for Thomas Jane in the title role (that would be Rome's Ray Stevenson) and who will be behind the camera (former kickboxing champion Lexi Alexander) -- to stuff we didn't know, like the identity of the film's big villain (his name is Jigsaw, and no, he isn't that Jigsaw).
The article has more information about the film, including a fairly detailed rundown of the plot, so if you're the type to avoid spoilers, you may wish to avoid reading the whole thing. Filming is scheduled to kick off in Montreal this fall, with an eye toward a release sometime next year.
Source: IGN Movies
IGN Movies has collected a bunch of information about the sequel, from stuff we already know -- like who's taking over for Thomas Jane in the title role (that would be Rome's Ray Stevenson) and who will be behind the camera (former kickboxing champion Lexi Alexander) -- to stuff we didn't know, like the identity of the film's big villain (his name is Jigsaw, and no, he isn't that Jigsaw).
The article has more information about the film, including a fairly detailed rundown of the plot, so if you're the type to avoid spoilers, you may wish to avoid reading the whole thing. Filming is scheduled to kick off in Montreal this fall, with an eye toward a release sometime next year.
Source: IGN Movies
Related Items
| Movie: | The Punisher |
| The Punisher | |
| Celeb: | Ray Stevenson |
| Thomas Jane | |
| Lexi Alexander |
(1-17 of 17 posts) | Reply
on Aug 08 2007 06:12 AM Why couldn't Thomas Jane just come back? Nothing at all against Ray Stevenson, he's probably going to be great, but Thomas Jane was perfect. I hate when they recast characters for sequels, especially when they were as great as Thomas Jane as The Punisher. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 08 2007 07:54 AM In reply to this comment (#1021947) Thomas Jane was recast because he didn't like the script for the new movie. It would have been great to see him as Frank Castle again, he was even training and preparing for the role for a long time even before he knew that the sequel was a definite go. The only reason he dropped out was because he said the script would not do the character justice, hopefully the script has had a couple of re-writes. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 08 2007 08:27 AM That's pretty funny, him saying that the script doesnt do the character justice especially after starring in 2004's version. They took a hacked up and slashed to pieces rewrite of one of Garth Ennis's marvel knights punisher story arks. The only thing that the movie and comic has in common was the punisher (who, while i love jane he did not do the punisher character justice though that was most likely the writing and not his ability as an actor) and the russian along with the people who lived at his apartment complex. Like the article said, leagues better than dolphs version but by no means a memorable movie. Idealy this film will be very dark and very gritty with very little humor and hopfully a better soundtrack than the 2004 version gave us, punisher isnt heroic so dont give him knockoff heroic music. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 08 2007 08:43 AM I thought Lundgren's movie was better because it actually had nonstop violence. I remember being very bored with the new version. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 08 2007 08:51 AM Wasn't Jigsaw pretty much a lock since the beginning? Granted, there have been umpteen different scripts, but I think that Jigsaw's been the one constant the entire time. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 08 2007 09:36 AM I just hope they know what they are doing. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 08 2007 10:53 AM This news pleases me....pretty much because I don't know anything about it (nope didn't read this article) so maybe it will be good. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 08 2007 11:07 AM sobelovebug is clueless! Tom jane was awesome as The Punisher. The Dolph Lundgren movie was crap compared to the Jane movie. That is one of the best movies ever made. The new movie is going to suck and i hope no one sees it. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 08 2007 12:25 PM I really like Ray Stevenson, but I don't know if this movie will *further* his career. As for the last two punishers, the Lungren one had worse acting but felt more like a Punisher movie than the new "Punisher finds a family" movie. (Reply to this) |
on Aug 08 2007 01:02 PM In reply to this comment (#1021947) Jane waited around for years for the sequel, then dropped out recently after the studio failed to get John Dahl. Jane was simply tired of waiting and training for a sequel that seemed it would never happen, or could potentially be very mediocre (not unlike the first one). And then as soon as Jane dropped it, Alexander and Steveson were signed within a matter of weeks. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 08 2007 01:07 PM In reply to this comment (#1022555) Looks like the best Punisher movie to be released for a long while is coming out at the end of August and it's called Death Sentence, directed by James Wan and starring Kevin Bacon. Check out the trailer over at apple.com. Looks like Wan went and made a good unofficial Punisher movie while all of these delays were hitting the actual franchise. This looks to be the flick that showcases a real jump forward for Wan after Saw and Dead Silence, and really puts him on the map as a go-to director. (Reply to this) |
on Aug 08 2007 01:15 PM I think Punisher wasn't a BAD movie... but it wasn't a good movie either. It's just so bland. I think Thomas James did a great job though and I think he was and still is right for the part. Kill the writers off and get a director who has the balls to make a decent Punisher film. I hate how cowardly Hollywood is getting with movie ratings. PG-13 on everything these days. Even Live Free DIe Hard was rated PG-13, a first of its kind. Throw an R rating on this and stay away from conventional techniques. Get Michael Mann to film this. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 08 2007 07:18 PM To be fair, DVD sales were pretty good. Anyways, they needed to keep Jane and get Ennis on board. Ah well...Punisher fans will have to live with yet another half-assed movie. (Reply to this) |
on Aug 09 2007 03:32 AM I'm going to pass on this one. I like Jane as The Punisher and his return was what made me interested in the possible sequel. Since he is not going to reprise the role I will not be reprising my trip to the theater to see it either. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 09 2007 09:49 AM In reply to this comment (#1021947) Normally I'd agree with you - but not in this case. Taking nothing away from Jane as an actor, he simply wasn't big enough to portray the character accurate to the source material (Jane is only 5'10 3/4 inches tall). In addition to Ray Stevenson looking more like Frank Castle than Jane does, he is also an imposing 6'4" tall, which is much more in line with how big (6'6") The Punisher is (supposed to) be. (Reply to this) |
|
on Aug 17 2007 12:27 PM The reason there is a PG-13 rating on everything now is MONEY. Even if the film would be better, that is hardly a major concern with Hollywood nowadays, it's all about money. You put an R rating on a movie you won't get as many tickets sold. PG-13 broadens the audience and will generate more ticket sales, and therefore more profit. I'm with you, make it R and don't hold back, please. But the reality of it is money talks. You sell the title, not the quality. (Reply to this) |
on Jan 24 2008 10:54 AM In reply to this comment (#1021947) I dunno, I think Ed Norton is gonna blow us away as the Incredible Hulk. (Reply to this) |
| You must be registered to post comments. Login or Register. |
Related Links
Related Articles
- RT on DVD: Exclusive Clips From Twilight, Punisher: War Zone (18)
-
Female Directors Challenge Status Quo
(2)
- Critics Consensus: Cadillac Records Rocks, Punisher Hurts (23)
- Box Office Guru Preview: Punisher Heads Into Weak Frame (11)
-
Punisher: War Zone Gets an R
(10)
-
Punisher Cinematographer Denies Rumors
(50)
-
Lionsgate Pushing for PG-13 Punisher?
(31)
-
Lexi Alexander Fired from Punisher: War Zone?
(27)
-
New Punisher Trailer, "Music Video" Debut
(25)
-
EW Offers 25 Comic Con Sneak Peeks
(1)
Latest Features
- Five Favorite Films With Precious' Gabby Sidibe (35)
- Five Favourite Films with Anika Noni Rose (17)
- Five Facts About Alice in Wonderland (70)
- 25 Movies So Bad They're Unmissable (113)
- The Future is Now! 10 Years of Movie Predictions (47)
- Meet the Universal Monsters Starting Lineup! (52)
- The 10 Most Unlikely Kids Movie Stars (34)
- 10 High Altitude Performances (20)
- Critics Choose Must-Sees and Worsts of 2009 (280)
- RT's Best of the Decade! (202)
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
5 Nicholas Sparks Cliches
BuzzSugar points out the author's commonly used story conventions.
The Avatar-District 9 Brawl
Techland anticipates a feud between fans of the two acclaimed Sci-Fi films.
Promos
Get the RT Newsletter!
Sign up to receive our newsletter and stay up to date on all the latest Tomatometers and movie news!
RSS Feeds
