httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj3tbnWMc-Q
“Marvel’s The Punisher” is launching in an extremely complicated political climate, and star Jon Bernthal fully acknowledges that.
“We put the premiere of this show off because of the tragedy that happened in Las Vegas. We did that out of respect. I think it was the right decision.”
While that premiere date put several weeks between the premiere and the Vegas attack, that was no guarantee that America wouldn’t experience another gun violence incident before then.
The ongoing gun violence in America affects everyone, but “The Punisher” features a character whose only real superpower is an immense capacity for violence.
“I never wanted to lionize Frank Castle. What I wanted to show with him, more than anything, was his pain and his anguish and cost of violence, and the toll that it has taken on him.”
Incidents like the shootings in Sutherland Springs theoretically should give us those opportunities, Bernthal believes.
“I don’t think that it’s art’s job to answer those questions, but if this show will spark debate, will highlight an unbelievable problem, make people think and talk about it, awesome. I think that’s great. We absolutely need to do that.”