The Punisher's first teaser drops in time for the Defenders

The first teaser for Netflix and Marvel’s Punisher series is finally here, just in time for the debut of Marvel’s Defenders, also on Netflix. While all those super-powered vigilantes are teaming up, Frank Castle is still doling out his specific brand of justice. The  teaser is light on details. It looks like we’re getting some flashes of Castle’s past, including some moments with his family, and maybe a quick muzzleflash look at some of the close-quarters gunfights he’ll end up in. This is a Marvel Netflix show, so there’ll definitely be a fight in a hallway at some point. Because there’s always a hallway fight.

Shades of John Wick

The whole teaser reminds me of John Wick. When the Russian mob first ticked off the still-mourning Wick, the first thing he had to do was unearth his weapons cache from the concrete floor of his basement, pounding it with a sledgehammer. The way the trailer punctuates Castle’s soliloquy with the hammer strikes feels just like that. It makes me wonder if the showrunners might pull some inspiration from stuff like John Wick. I mean, we can hope, right? Of all the movies to pull from for a Punisher story, Wick is about as good a choice as we could hope for.

There’s no release date yet for the show. Netflix has offered up a 2017 release date for it, though, which means we don’t have to wait much longer for it. As excited as I am to finally dig into the Defenders, Marvel surprised me by making Frank Castle the best part of Daredevil‘s second season. I’m eager to see star Jon Bernthal dig deeper into the character and show us what Frank can do without any boyscouts in the way. The series premiere can’t get here fast enough, but in the meantime we can definitely expect more photos and more trailers.