'Daredevil' Season 2 Casts Former 'Walking Dead' Star As Punisher

Following the immense popularity of the first season of Netflix's "Daredevil," the franchise will bring in another iconic Marvel character, the Punisher, in Season 2. The studio has cast former "Walking Dead" star Jon Bernthal to play the role.

Many may remember Bernthal as Shane in the first two seasons of AMC's zombie thriller. Deadline reports he'll be picking up a rifle once again to be the fourth actor to bring Marvel Comics' Frank Castle to life. There have been three attempts to make the Punisher work on screen. Dolph Lundgren played the role in 1989 and Thomas Jane played it in 2004. The third attempt, before the rights to the character reverted back to Marvel, saw "Thor" actor Ray Stevenson take on the role in 2008's "Punisher: War Zone."

The Punisher is a controversial person in the Marvel comics world as his character embraces murder as a means to "punish" evildoers. Unlike the way Spider-Man and Daredevil bring criminals to justice with a swift knockout blow and a call to the police, Castle would strongly prefer to simply execute his enemies and call it a day.

In the comics, their very different definitions of "justice" force Castle and Matt Murdock, Daredevil's alter ego, to butt heads regularly. With the gritty action and intense violence featured in Season 1 of "Daredevil," CinemaBlend was among the first to speculate that the collection of Netflix shows on the horizon would be the perfect place to introduce the antihero.

“Jon Bernthal brings an unmatched intensity to every role he takes on, with a potent blend of power, motivation and vulnerability that will connect with audiences,” Jeph Loeb, Marvel’s head of television, said in a statement announcing the news. “Castle’s appearance will bring dramatic changes to the world of Matt Murdock and nothing will be the same.”

What do you think? Are you excited to see the Punisher make his way to TV? Comment below or tweet your thoughts to @TylerMcCarthy.