FAQ for
Punisher: War Zone (2008) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Punisher: War Zone can be found here.

No. Punisher: War Zone is based on a Marvel comics character. The Punisher aka Frank Castle first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (Feb. 1974) and was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr. and Ross Andru. Since then, he has appeared in several monthly publications, including The Punisher War Journal, The Punisher War Zone, and The Punisher Armory, as well as in The Punisher (1989) and The Punisher (2004). Punisher: War Zone was written by screenwriters Nick Santora, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway.

No. It´s not a retelling of the origin but begins like the MAX line of the comic - Frank Castle has already been operating as the Punisher for years. The original story will be told in flashback sequences, and it is the origin from the original comic which will be referenced. Punisher's current MAX line of comics is arguably it's most successful run to date. It could however be seen as a sequel if you really want it to be. The flashbacks give no details on how he became the Punisher, it's only mentioned. As it's obvious, not to mention it happened in the last film. The only thing that contradicts the first movie is that Frank mentions he had a daughter, whereas in the last film he only had a son. Aside from that, it isn't out of the realm of possibilities that he moved from Tampa to New York.

Tom Jane walked out on the then in-development Punisher sequel in the spring of 2007, citing creative differences. Rumor has it that Marvel wanted the movie to be closer to the MAX line of the comic, something which was fine with LGF, as long as the Punisher got to keep some redeeming features. On the other hand, Jane wanted the movie to be closer to Taxi Driver, and allegedly wanted to develop Frank Castle in the same direction as Travis Bickle, taking the movie even further away from the comic. (Jane has officially stated that the similarity to Taxi Driver was the main reason he accepted the role in the first place and that he was never a fan of the Punisher comic.) Another rumor has it that Jane wanted more money than LGF was willing to pay in order to keep him. When both Marvel and LGF refused to give in to his demands, Jane walked out on the movie.

No. Jane's departure caused a rethink of the movie, and the entire project went through a major overhaul. Everything they had developed thus far was scrapped and, for all intents and purposes, production started anew. Marvel, LGF and the director they hired shortly after Jane's departure found a vision that all involved parties could agree upon and, since then, production moved forward in one direction. Director Lexi Alexander wrote a new script from page one with only a passing resemblance to previous drafts. Her script has since been rewritten and further polished by Iron Man screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. As such, the script currently being used is NOT the one which caused Jane to leave the movie. Reviews of early drafts of the current script have been highly favourable.

Punisher: War Zone aims to be as similar to the comic as possible, and the recent MAX run of the comic is the single greatest source of inspiration. The main characters, including Detective Soap, are mostly Garth Ennis era. However, Jigsaw and Microchip are also important roles in the movie, which suggests that the movie is inspired by old school comics as well. The story takes place in New York whereas the Thomas Jane version moved the locale to Florida.

Punisher: War Zone is directed by up-and-coming Oscar nominated, female director Lexi Alexander. Alexander's first feature film Green Street Hooligans demonstrates she has all the skills necessary to direct a Punisher movie, both in terms of storytelling, character development and sheer brutality. Many fans of the previous movies often express concern that Alexander is too young and inexperienced to properly direct a Punisher movie, while forgetting that both previous directors, Goldblatt and Hensleigh, came from different fields entirely and had no prior directing experience at all. (Incidentally, none of them have to this date directed another theatrically released feature again). In terms of directorial qualifications, Lexi Alexander is, as such, the first trained and accomplished director ever to helm a Punisher movie.

"Days of Revenge" by Ramallah

No, because this has nothing to do with the Tom Jane movie.

Aside from Frank Castle (The Punisher) the film incorporates some characters from the comic's many incarnations.

Jigsaw - Billy Russo (Russoti in the film) is laregly unchanged. He is a mutilated madman obsessed with the Punisher. In the comic he was frequently depicted with a comically overstated eye. This was removed for the film, but as a tribute, one of his eyes is similarly disfigured.

Detective Soap - While retaining the "loser" qualities of the character, the film deletes much of his backstory and his complex relationship with Frank. The movie assumes that he has been working with Frank from the beginning and that he isn't quite as inept as his comic counterpart.

Microchip - In the comic he provided Frank with intel on his targets due to the fact that he went through a similar crisis. He worked with the Punisher for many years before they had a falling out. The film version of the character is little more than an armorer and it's assumed that he's helping the punisher to aid his dying mother.

Pittsy and Ink - In the comic they were a duo of mob enforcers who were equally anti-social and psychopathic. The film changes them to more standard "goodfellas" and it's implied that they are father and son.

Paul Budiansky-From Widowmaker, though changed from a hero NYPD detective to a coke head FBI agent.

Cristu and Tiberiu Bulat-From The Slavers, human traffickers from the Balkans, war criminals and probably the most ill fated of the Punisher's enemies. However in the movie they're typical Russian mobsters. Much like what they did to Pittsy and Ink.

Cesare Gaetano-A name change from Messimo Cesare who is killed right off the bat in In the Beginning. The killing of the character starts a series of large problems for The Punisher.

Maginty-From Kitchen Irish, a great character cut down to a barely visible supporting role. His death in the film was originally used in In the Beginning in an attempt to kill Pittsy, though it failed miserably.