…Unofficially, that is. Thomas Jane starred as Marvel Comics’ The Punisher in 2004’s The Punisher, the second of three films about the gun-totting, mob-killing vigilante. Jane was set to reprise the role in 2008’s Punisher: War Zone, but the film became a soft reboot of the franchise instead starring Ray Stevenson (to much less success). Jane obviously still loves the character, so he reprises the role in this short fanfilm (although this is definitely a professional shoot), and director Phil Joanou (Gridiron Gang), producer Adi Sankar (The Grey, Dredd) and newcomer writer Chad St. John add a professional touch. We even get an awesome appearance by Ron Perlman. It’s a ten minute slice of coolness that would make a great short comic story, and probably a wise idea for Jane and the filmmakers to release this during Comic-Con when everyone’s attention is on comics and movies.
This isn’t the first time Jane went out on his own for a passion project. If you recall, Jane lobbied heavily for the lead role in Jonah Hex, even having himself done up in make-up for a test shot for the role that ultimately went to Josh Brolin (and considering how awful the finished movie was, that was perhaps fortunate). It wasn’t all in vain though: Jane ended up voicing Hex in a DC Comics-produced animated short, so hopefully this short film has the same effect on Marvel.
Check out the short film below:
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