During his recent press tour for “Mad Max Fury Road” Tom Hardy spoke with Collider about playing The Punisher for Marvel. As Marvel becomes more and more concerned about their live-action universe this is something that would excite everyone.
Collider: I heard Warner Bros. has a few more superhero movies, maybe one or two that they’re developing [Laughs].
HARDY: I want The Punisher… I want The Punisher, or Splinter Cell, I want something…I don’t know what I want.
You as Punisher could be very interesting.
HARDY: I’m not big enough to be The Punisher, I’m 5’9” [Laughs].
But I actually think that adds to the character.
HARDY: Frank Castle, I would love it. Is that him, isn’t it?
Yeah. It’s Frank Castle.
Marvel recently regained the rights to The Punisher. After two films that failed to capture audiences and the appeal of the character, Marvel could really use an injection of Frank Castle’s lethal brand of justice in their world. Not only would the character fit perfectly in the Netflix universe alongside Daredevil, but he would add an even harder edge that the fans have been craving.
The height issue that Hardy cites is a non-issue since most actors appear much taller on the screen than they do in person, just ask Tom Cruise. In any event, this is hardly a confirmation of Hardy’s investment in the role. But, perhaps now that he’s spoken out about his interest it’s up to Marvel to reach out and make this happen.
At this point even an inclusion in the upcoming second season of Daredevil would be enough for people to go insane. For those of you out of the loop The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence, and torture in his war on crime. Driven by the deaths of his wife and two children, who were killed by the mob during a shootout in New York City’s Central Park, the Punisher wages a one-man war on the mob and all criminals in general by using all manner of conventional war weaponry. In other words he’d give us the most extreme version of the brutality we got glimpses of in Daredevil.