‘The Punisher’ Star Jon Bernthal Discusses Gun Violence Before Netflix Release Date

The newest Marvel superhero show coming to Netflix will be The Punisher this month and the man who plays the title role recently talked about gun violence. Jon Bernthal will reprise the role that he played during the second season of Daredevil on Netflix as The Punisher. He’s a vigilante sort of hero known for his use of military weapons and training to take down his foes. The new Punisher show on Netflix was pushed back due to recent mass shootings in the United States. Bernthal spoke about the fact the show involves heavy violence and guns, as well as his thoughts on how to address the issue of gun violence in the nation.

As the ComicBook website reported, Bernthal recently spoke to ABC News with regards to his new show and gun violence. Fans of Marvel or this particular superhero already know the story of Frank Castle aka “The Punisher” who is a gun-wielding anti-hero of sorts. Viewers who watched Daredevil on Netflix faithfully saw him go toe-to-toe with the “Devil of Hell’s Kitchen” with guns playing a heavy part in the story. Guns will be a big part of the story in his own spinoff show as well.

The murder of Frank Castle's family was just the beginning. pic.twitter.com/JfgkpG6QX8

— The Punisher (@ThePunisher) August 24, 2017

Bernthal talked about how the show will engage its viewers on the issue of gun violence by going “head on” with it.

“I think and I’m not… look, I think art, sort of the best thing that art can do is be a mirror to society and reflect what’s going on and make you ask questions, force you to ask questions not necessarily try to answer them and I think one thing that the show does and you know in talking to Steve [Lightfoot,] I’m not even sure whether he did this on purpose or not — Steve’s the writer — but I really think that there’s nothing preachy about this show.”

With that said, Bernthal also spoke about the show’s original premiere date being put off due to the Las Vegas shooting that happened in early October as well as the fact there needs to be more conversation about the issue.

“Look, let’s be honest, we put off the premiere of this show because of gun violence in this country and now the night before we premiere there’s been another bout of it. There’s been 900 gun deaths since Vegas, you know. There’s clearly an issue. We clearly have a problem and what we need immediately I think is some open dialogue on it.”

It’s no secret that some critics believe that various pieces of entertainment whether they are music, video games, movies, or television shows, can influence someone to commit violent acts. However, the bigger issue always seems to be a person’s mental state and recognizing individuals who could be unstable and red flags in society. While The Punisher television show may portray heavy violence and guns, it also portrays a psychologically traumatized anti-hero who can probably help get those “open dialogues” going that Bernthal believes are needed.

They did this to Frank Castle. Now #ThePunisher gets revenge. pic.twitter.com/POyxE04Riu

— The Punisher (@ThePunisher) September 30, 2017

The new Marvel series The Punisher has a total of 13 episodes beginning with “3 AM” The show is scheduled for its official Netflix release date on Friday, November 17, 2017.

[Featured Image by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP Images]