Tom Hardy Looks At ‘The Punisher’ After Dropping Out Of ‘Suicide Squad’
Tom Hardy might have had to drop out of one comic book movie, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still have his eyes on another legendary comics hero. Originally, Hardy was supposed to be a member of the cast of Suicide Squad, but Tom had to drop out because he’s shooting for another film he’s starring in. The Revenant has gone longer than it was first expected to go.
Hardy talked about wishing that the schedule would have worked out better, but Tom understood that the reason he had to leave the film was one that was not avoidable. When talking about his regret in leaving The Suicide Squad, he also talked about other movies based on comic books he’d love to do. In the interview with Collider, Tom Hardy said he would love to play The Punisher though he did admit that he was likely too short (5’9?) for the role.
“I want The Punisher… I want The Punisher, or Splinter Cell, I want something…I don’t know what I want. I’m not big enough to be The Punisher, I’m 5’9?. Frank Castle, I would love it.” As the website pointed out, Tom Hardy is quite a bit shorter than Ray Stevenson, who was the last man to play the Punisher in War Zone. Still, it doesn’t seem that ridiculous, especially when you consider it wouldn’t take much to basically play the same kind of angry, desperate character he plays in the Mad Max reboot.
Size isn’t the only roadblock for Tom Hardy. There is some confusion about just what is going to be done with The Punisher film franchise since Marvel got the rights for the anti-hero back from Lionsgate. As the New York Daily News points out, the three previous iterations have not exactly been big time money makers at the box office. On the flip side of that argument is the fact that Tom Hardy would be the biggest and hottest name to ever fill the role.
Should Marvel ever decide to put another movie with The Punisher’s storyline in theaters, they could certainly do worse than Tom Hardy. The company has done well going with big name actors for their other super heroes over the last few years, not the least of which is the big name cast of the recently released Avengers: Age of Ultron. It certainly seems like Tom Hardy would fit in the role and keep that big name tradition going.
[Photo Courtesy The Movie Network]
