How to do the Punisher Right

I'm extremely excited to hear that Ray Stevenson might be reprising the role of Frank Castle/Punisher and that the rights are back with Marvel Studios. (: This makes for endless possibilities with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whether or not Marvel Studios chooses to pursue putting Castle in with the rest of the heroes, it's just good all around that Punisher is back where he belongs.

Please keep in mind during this article that I'm not trying to sound like a pretentious bastard or anything of the sort, but just a big fan that wants to see a good adaptation finally.

I think there are definitely quite a few things that need to be considered while writing this film and introducing new elements that are key to Frank Castle.

1. The costume: Tim Bradstreet had the look down perfectly. Concealable body armor, An overcoat, the classic skull. There was nothing that was too much or not tactical. While I understand that this was used by the Tom Jane film, I believe that Stevenson would be a much better fit for this particular costume, it just looks downright menacing.

2. Partners that actually contribute: It's about time that we've seen some sort of partner or just a fellow soldier from back in the day. Yorkie Mitchell would be perfect. If we could see just a tad bit of Kitchen Irish in the next film it could pay off. In the last 2 films you saw Micky Duka feed a bit of info here and there, you had Micro and Carlos in War Zone, but no one really gave a real contribution or any memorable appearances. If we could see some similar scene to the docks in Kitchen Irish with Castle and Mitchell doing a double M-60 assault on a bunch of bangers, done right, it could be a great add in. Or Katheryn O'Brien. She's definitely a favorite. I would say Jenny Cesare but that would leave out the Punisher through a good portion.

3. Villains: This is the biggie. Who shall be the next villain? Although my favorite antagonist without a doubt is Finn Cooley, I think it's time we see someone who's actually a physical match for Frank.
A.)Barracuda would be the obvious choice for this. It's time to see the Punisher get into a real fight. I'd like to see everything involved too. Frank slicing his fingers off, choking him with barbed wire, Barracuda's unnerving optimism, the shark scene. All of these things would set a new standard in CBM's for gritty, gory uncensored goodies (With realistic FX's) and disturbing characters and faithfulness to source material. You just can't go wrong with Barracuda, because the best thing of Garth Ennis' writing is that throughout the story, before all the blood, guts, constant profanity, and drugs is a well established story with well established characters. No personality is skin deep in Ennis' run.

B.) The second person who could make a good villain would be Nicky Cavella. Nicky is just a really messed up individual. He kills his family, screws his aunt, cooks middle schooled kids into a sauce for daddy, and let's not forget digging up the Castle family grave. He's a true psychotic but also a dead on coward. This would be a great contrast for a Punisher villain. You could establish his story in opening credits or open the story with Castle Vs. Bethell and the CIA and put like a "1 year later" somewhere to start off Up is Down-Black is White. Appearances by Rawlins would be awesome as well but I really wouldn't care to see him unless his story was established.

4.) The direction of Castle and main story: I think we could all benefit from a break from the heartbreak and kids. The whole point of the story of the Punisher is that he will never stop doing what he does and he doesn't know what he would be doing with himself otherwise. The story doesn't necessarily need a moral or message at the end of the film., I.E. Revenge, redemption. It just needs to be a downright gritty, bloody, menacing film with a solid story and solid actors. You can call me ridiculous for saying this but I think this film needs to have a love scene or something or other with O'Brien. Simply to establish that Castle is aware that his wife is gone, she's never coming back, it's been years. You know? Another good add on would be a monologue throughout the movie and sarcastic last words. It's one of my favorite parts of the Punisher is that in the heat of the moment you get in his head and his strategy is explained. Such as "They put the sights on top for a reason." or "No time to reload the shotgun, here's where it gets tricky" *Pulls out pistol*

Anyway, thanks for reading my long article. Leave ideas and feedback please.