‘The Punisher’ Spinoff Series Spoilers: Meet Ben Barnes, The Actor Playing Frank Castle’s Enemy

Marvel is chugging full steam ahead with “The Punisher,” a spinoff of the Netflix series, “Daredevil.” Starring Jon Bernthal as the gun-toting vigilante, the show just cast its main villain.

English actor Ben Barnes, who is known for his role as Prince Caspian in “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” has been cast as Frank Castle’s enemy, TVLine reported exclusively. He is in a series regular role, which means we will see him a lot in “The Punisher” Season 1.

Although details of the character Barnes plays are being kept under wraps by Marvel, speculation suggests that he may essay the role of Bobby Saint, a corrupt crime prodigy played by James Carpinello in the 2004 movie titled “The Punisher.” In the film, Saint gets killed by Castle during an arms deal. When he dies, his father and mob boss Howard Saint orders to kill Castle and his entire family in order to exact vengeance.

Apart from portraying Prince Caspian, Barnes’ other acting credits include playing Founding Father Samuel Adams in the 2015 miniseries “Sons Of Liberty,” playing Dorian Gray in a 2009 film of the same name, a supporting role in 2012 film “The Words” and a supporting role in a 2013 comedy “The Big Wedding.”

Before “The Punisher,” the 35-year-old actor will be seen in HBO’s highly anticipated fall show “Westworld.”

Frank Castle first made his appearance in Season 2 of “Daredevil” as an anti-hero. Netflix decided to make a spinoff based on Castle’s life a month after the sophomore season’s release. Fans have loved the character who fought against Matt Murdock in the first few episodes of Season 2.

“The Punisher” is Marvel’s sixth series with Netflix. Steve Lightfoot, who penned “Hannibal,” serves as the showrunner.

There has been no official release date for Season 1 of “The Punisher.” However, rumors and guesswork suggest that Frank Castle could hit the streaming service in either late 2017 or early 2018.