Ben Barnes Cast as Potential Villain in The Punisher Series on Netflix

Ben Barnes has been cast in a major role on the forthcoming Netflix Marvel's The Punisher series, potentially as a villain, according to a recent report by TV Line. Other than the casting announcement the role is still shrouded in mystery, though there is heavy speculation Barnes will take up the role of Bobby Saint, the son of crime boss and regular Punisher comic book foe Howard Saint, who was originally portrayed by James Carpinello in the 2008 Punisher film. Ben Barnes is a British actor known for his previous work in Chronicles of Narnia, Stardust, and Seventh Son. He also portrayed the role of Samuel Adams in the historical drama Sons of Liberty on the History channel, and can soon be seen in the lead role of Logan on HBO's upcoming Westworld series. After a successful debut on the second season of Marvel's Daredevil, The Punisher (played by Jon Bernthal) will be featured in his own series, likely not until 2018, led by showrunner Steve Lightfoot. Lightfoot was a writer and executive producer on NBC's Hannibal, as well as earning writing credits from UK shows Casualty and Taggart in addition to the BBC/HBO docudrama House of Saddam. In the Marvel Comics universe, The Punisher (real name Frank Castle) is a deadly vigilante and anti-hero who wages a one-man war on crime. Driven by the deaths of his family at the hands of the mob, the war veteran engages in controversial tactics to achieve his goals, which has drawn him in conflicts with both heroes and villains. The character, loosely based on 1970s films like Dirty Harry and Death Wish, has been featured as the titular hero in three previous films, in many comic books, in video games, and as a guest on Marvel cartoons series Spiderman: The Animated Series and The Super Hero Squad Show. The Punisher series will take place in the same Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York that is featured in Marvel's Jessica Jones, Marvel's Daredevil and the soon to be released Marvel's Iron Fist. Those characters (along with Luke Cage of Netflix series Marvel's Luke Cage) will band together to fight crime in Marvel's Defenders - Netflix's answer to the Avengers film franchise (although there is still no confirmation on whether or not Punisher will be a part of that team up). The start of production and the exact planned air date for Marvel's The Punisher have yet to be announced by Netflix.