IGN has Punisher 2 plot details

[Sebastos]

More insight on the plot.

http://www.justpressplay.net/movies/the-punisher-2/news/punisher-sequel-plot-details.html

The Punisher 2 (TBD)
by Arya Ponto

Punisher Sequel Plot Details


IGN scooped up some plot details on the sequel to The Punisher, and it looks like it won't be a complete reboot like we initially thought. Production-wise, it is, but the story won't bother to retell the origin again. In fact, this new movie seems to be taking place several years into The Punisher's trigger-happy career. And from what it sounds like, it's going to be riding behind Garth Ennis' coat tails again.

I'm a big fan of the Punisher comic, and it's one of the ones that I anticipate eagerly every month. Not particularly because of the character (he's kind of boring if you think about it...), but because of the writer. Famed scribe Garth Ennis has written Frank Castle through two versions: under the teen-rated Marvel Knights imprint—which was darkly humorous, taking its cue from Tarantino movies—and under the current Marvel MAX imprint—targeted at mature readers, and features some of the most f-cked up things you'll ever read. Most of the Tom Jane movie was based on Ennis' first Marvel Knights story, Welcome Back, Frank.

Now here are some bullet points on what you can expect from the Lexi Alexander directed sequel. Possible spoilers, be warned:

• Main villain is Jigsaw aka Billy Russo, a classic Punisher villain from way back. Producer Avi Arad has claimed that Jigsaw will be the villain from the very start. When the first movie came out, it was decided that they'll make Jigsaw John Saint, the son of the first movie's villain Howard Saint (John Travolta). If you remember, at the end of that movie, Castle rigged John to a car, dragging him into an exploding parking lot. Well, he wasn't supposed to die. The explosion supposedly sends him through a window, disfiguring his face, hence Jigsaw. This same plot is used in the Punisher video game (which was written by, who else? Garth Ennis!)

Jigsaw in the new movie takes his origin from the comics, which is of mafia hitman Billy Russo being thrown through a window by Castle. Disfigured, the hitman wants his revenge.



• Jigsaw works for his uncle, Don Cesare, a wheelchair-bound mafioso. This isn't so in the comics, but Don Cesare is a reference to Punisher MAX #1, where Castle drops in on Cesare's 100th year old birthday bash and shoots the drooling old man in the head, before wiping out all the men attending the party.

In the film, Cesare will have a bigger role (and not as senile). Tension builds between him and his now-supervillain nephew when Jigsaw plans on selling a biological shipment to a Muslim terrorist cell.



• The "biological" shipment (notice the quotes) is handled by Romanian crimelord Cristu Bulat. Another character from Ennis' Punisher run. Cristu appears in a very disturbing story called The Slavers, where he sells in women from Romania. Castle gets involved in his human trafficking business after a dead baby turns up. Could it be that his role is the same in the movie? Or are they making him a typical arms dealer?



• Detective Martin Soap is in the movie. Soap is another Ennis creation, a bumbling loser detective who was made into a one-man Punisher Task Force (the NYPD doesn't really want Castle captured, since he's doing their job for them). Out of frustration, Soap ends up being an ally of Frank, feeding him the police's mob intel throughout Ennis' Marvel Knights run.

His role in the movie is exactly the same. The NYPD in the movie also aren't eager to catch Castle, until the FBI sends in an Agent whose partner was killed by Castle when working undercover in the mafia. Needless to say he's hellbent on taking the Punisher down. There's also a bit of a crossover when Jigsaw targets the partner's widow and child for an execution.



The movie seems to be taking the gritty hyper-violent route, and moves beyond the typical revenge flick. Castle is described to be slightly disturbed over killing an innocent, and his continued killing spree is his brand of death wish. He also has a friend in the sequel named Dante, who's also remorseful over his past as a drug dealer, and sets up a family arcade in Harlem to show that he's changed... which is the altered reflection of Castle's bloodier form of atonement.

I'm hoping that beyond just name-dropping references to the comic, the film also learns a thing or two from Ennis about depicting the Punisher's war on crime. In the comics, Ennis tells mafia tales that would make Martin Scorsese heave. The film doesn't need to be that graphic or twisted, but it would be great if it can maintain the gritty noir atmosphere. From what I can tell, this new movie won't be bringing back the humor of the first one, with the exception of possibly the Soap character.

The film is now casting its villains and supporting roles, and hopes to start shooting soon.

Source:Justpressplay.net

Is that a typo?

Besides that, this sounds very interesting.

 

[Advanced Dark]

No that's not a typo. That's what happened at the end of the last Punisher film. That's the direction they were going if Jane stayed on onboard. I like the new way better of course.

 

[Sebastos]

No that's not a typo. That's what happened at the end of the last Punisher film. That's the direction they were going if Jane stayed on onboard. I like the new way better of course.

No, I know that's how it ended. But it says it was John that was rigged the car, when it was Howard.

 

[ObakeTora]

Is that a typo?

Besides that, this sounds very interesting.

No. The writer is a dumbass.

Castle boring?

 

[Brendan]

I don't think he knows what he is talking about at all.

 

[Sebastos]

It does seem that way.

 

[Advanced Dark]

No, I know that's how it ended. But it says it was John that was rigged the car, when it was Howard.

I see. I was thinking "John" as in "Travolta". LOL

 

[Sebastos]

I see. I was thinking "John" as in "Travolta". LOL

Yeah, I thought that to for a minute. But it cleary is an error.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

It's good they're not going for the John Saint as Jigsaw angle. When I was playing the game I was thinking "Boy is this ****ing stupid." Plus, he was a pain in the ass to beat so that didn't help matters.

I will admit I'm a little annoyed at their character selection. We have Billy "Jigsaw" Russo, Don Cesare, AND Cristu Bulat all in the same flick. Is it REALLY necessary to include all these "named guys" from the comics in one movie? Bulat and "The Slavers" could easily merit a subplot, if not the main angle in a sequel down the line. That book was very good and hugely disturbing, it just seems weird that they'd waste Cristu portraying him as a simple arms dealer/thug rather than the rat bastard/awesome bad guy that he really was.

 

[Arsh]

The Slavers storyline in itself would make a fantastic film.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

The Slavers storyline in itself would make a fantastic film.

A lot of the MAX books could. Hell, the one where Frank broke into the Russian nuke silo to rescue the little girl would make a damn good film itself, if the peeps in charge would think ahead a little.

Not knocking Punisher 2 before it even begins, but it wouldn't hurt if Lexi and whoever is really in charge would take a look at the comics. Cherry-picking villians/ideas from different stories and throwing them together can work but it seems somewhat wasteful to me.

 

[Brendan]

I think this script deserves another major rewrite before production.

LGF, hold your ****ing horses.

 

[Costa]

I think its a hell of a lot better script than the 04 script.

 

[FireandIce213]

I think its a hell of a lot better script than the 04 script.

I agree, at least with this script we're pretty much guaranteed more action and gunfire.

 

[Advanced Dark]

I think this script deserves another major rewrite before production.

LGF, hold your ****ing horses.

Everything sounds perfect to me and much better compared to the script of the 1st film.

 

[Costa]

And theres a lot of situations going on in this movie. That makes me keep my eyes on the screen rather than a plain simple good guy, bad guy story. I like to see stuff like that. I heard that this is not a sequel, its a new franchise, nothing to do with the 04 film.

 

[cthulhu]

Thats preferable the 04 version wasn't bad but the punisher wasnt really in the film until the last 15 minutes.

 

[Brendan]

Yeah, if you're going to compare it to 04 than whatever. That never means there isn't enough room for improvement just because it sounds better than 04.

 

[Advanced Dark]

^ There's always room for improvement on every script ever written. At some point you have to actually make the film instead of being second guessed by every crying fanboy out there who of course knows how to write a script and make a movie better than anyone else.

 

[Brendan]

^ There's always room for improvement on every script ever written. At some point you have to actually make the film instead of being second guessed by every crying fanboy out there who of course knows how to write a script and make a movie better than anyone else.

One more rewrite never hurt. Look at Ed Norton, the guy is still making revisions to the Hulk before they go into production.

 

[Advanced Dark]

^ How do you know Lexi and company are not making revisions on the fly. Most films have revisions during and right before filming. Marcum and Holloway have made quite a few revisions from the older rewrites. I know this as fact.

 

[Brendan]

I guess I was really going out of my way to hope for them to get rid of or change some of this extra slack. Mainly Microchip.

 

[Advanced Dark]

^ I know. I think it makes more sense though. Films are more grounded in reality than the book. They sort of have to unless you make it like Sin City which...they shouldn't.

 

[X-Punisher]

One more rewrite never hurt. Look at Ed Norton, the guy is still making revisions to the Hulk before they go into production.

Ed Norton? Is that the guy in American History X?

 

[Brendan]

Ed Norton? Is that the guy in American History X?

Um... Yeah. AHX, Fight Club, The Italian Job, The Illusionist. You didn't hear about him starring in and writting the next Hulk movie? Its been all over SHH for quite a while now.