I wanted to make a fan film for a character I’ve always loved and believed in – a love letter to Frank Castle & his fans. It was an incredible experience with everyone on the project throwing in their time just for the fun of it. It’s been a blast to be a part of from start to finish — we hope the friends of Frank enjoy watching it as much as we did making it. -Thomas Janes
Thomas Jane played Frank Castle, better known by The Punisher, back in 2004. Reviews were poor and the box office was a modest $55 million. Yet, I remember the debate back eight years ago. I remember fanboys arguing. Some said for an R-rated Punisher film, the violence was too light. Jane’s Frank Castle was too, if not kind, compassionate. Others said that they saw a film that was good, considering it was only given a $33 million budget (which according to the director only $13.5 million actually went towards the shooting) with a very short 52 days to film.
I haven’t watched the film since it was released back in ’04, but I remembered thinking Jane did a fine job as Castle, but the movie lacked severely everywhere else. I remembering thinking that there could have been a good film there somewhere had they had the resources, a more polished script, and someone other than John Travolta as the villain.
According to Film School Rejects, Marvel has had the rights back to the character since 2011. In this short film titled Dirty Laundry that was screened at Comic Con 2012, Jane once again reprises the role of Frank Castle. Could this be his cover letter expressing his interest to Marvel? All I know is that they get bonus points for having Ron Perlman – and it certainly lives up to the “needs more violence” standard that fans complained about.
I think most comic book fans would love to see Marvel take another stab at this character. Would it make sense for Marvel to bring Thomas Jane back? On the bright side, they already have their origin story with the 2004 film. On the negative side, it will always be associated with the 2004 film, if they choose not to reboot it completely.
Check out Jane’s 10 minute film below. Then let us know what you think: do you want to see Jane as Castle again? Or should Marvel go in another direction?
Completely agree with the long-term strategy point. Now that J.J. has left the building and I hope all his...
That was pretty cool. Funny enough was talking about this at the Con this weekend. I’d totally vote for Jane but suspect they’ll just reboot the whole thing
Entertaining the idea that they do reboot… then who for Frank Castle?
The thing is, they ALREADY rebooted Punisher with Ray Stevenson in the role.
Wasn’t that technically a sequel to the ’04 movie, just with a different actor in the lead role? I don’t know. I never saw it.
I never saw it either, but as I mentioned bellow, Thomas Jane was set to return but backed out because of the quality of the script. I don’t know if they rewrote any parts to make it feel more like a reboot, but it was supposed to have been a sequel.
I read that it’s more reboot than sequel
It’s a sequel to the 04 movie. I really like Stevenson but the movie is a mess. Even the action is mediocre (though the body count is significantly larger than the first film).
That was badass. I’m with Emma – I’d love to see Jane back and that short was additional proof he could pull it off (again since I liked the original).
My understanding is the only reason he wasn’t in the second Punisher is because he didn’t like the script. It’s an awesome little short and definitely sells him as the Punisher.
Also looking up about the rights to the Punisher, Marvel recently got the rights back for Blade. Perhaps it’s time to invest in some Marvel mid-range action movies (under $50 million).
I agree that Thomas Jane was never the problem in the original Punisher. With what he had to work with, I think he did an all around great job and I found that movie to be more enjoyable than other super hero blockbusters like ‘Thor’.
I’m all aboard for Jane in the role again. Viva la resistance!