Punisher 2's new director signed!

[Advanced Dark]

http://www.moviehole.net/news/20070517_punisher_2_has_a_director.html

Punisher 2 has a director!
Date : May 17, 2007</B> Posted By : [FONT=arial, verdana]Clint Morris[/FONT]

Yesterday Thomas Jane dropped out of &#8220;The Punisher 2&#8221;.
By 5pm, every &#8220;Punisher&#8221; fan in the country decided they wouldn&#8217;t be going to see the film &#8211; not just because Jane&#8217;s no longer playing Frank Castle in it, but because the actor essentially said the reason he left the project was because the script was smellier than Paris Hilton&#8217;s nether regions.
Whether that&#8217;s true or not isn&#8217;t that point, what is is that the film the film has scored a remarkable director &#8211;someone who may be able to put some polish on the turd (if he doesn&#8217;t get pushed into a corner by a bawdy Lionsgate accountant).
According to Freeze Dried Movies, the crafty John Dahl (&#8220;Roadkill&#8221;, &#8220;Red Rock West&#8221 has been signed to direct the film.
Smart choice. He&#8217;s not exactly known for his action films, but he&#8217;s definitely a fantastic filmmaker &#8211; he was the Fincher before there was a Fincher. He always comes up with something different and intriguing&#8230; cast your mind back to some of his films&#8230; &#8220;Red Rock West&#8221;, &#8220;Kill Me Again&#8221;, &#8220;Unforgettable&#8221;, &#8220;The Last Seduction&#8221;&#8230;. All terrific movies with killer twists and a real unique vision behind them. In more recent years he helmed the entertaining two-hander &#8220;Rounders&#8221; starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, and one of my favourite road thrillers of recent years, &#8220;Joyride&#8221; &#8211; or &#8220;Roadkill&#8221; as it was known here in Australia &#8211; a nail biting companion piece to Eric Red&#8217;s &#8220;The Hitcher&#8221; that showcased the director&#8217;s knack for pushing his audience closer to the edge of their seats. And whilst his last film was a bit of a disappointment &#8211; &#8220;The Great Raid&#8221;, filmed here in Australia &#8211; it proved he can work with actors plus make an average script well, seem not so average on screen.
I&#8217;m intrigued to see what Dahl can do with &#8220;The Punisher&#8221;. He always injects a sense of humour into his on-screen characters (think Fiorentino in &#8220;The Last Seduction&#8221; or Nicolas Cage in &#8220;Red Rock West&#8221 so he could be the right man to give us the multi-faceted Frank Castle we haven&#8217;t really seen before. He&#8217;s also bound to make sure the script&#8217;s as good as it can be before he starts lensing.
If he can&#8217;t twist Thomas Jane&#8217;s arm into returning, then lets hope Dahl snags an interesting replacement (and casts a good &#8216;Jigsaw&#8217;, the villain of the picture).

 

[Seen]

Interesting choice. Rounders was a fantastic film. My hopes have been elevated slightly.

 

[Advanced Dark]

Life goes on. It sucks for Hensleigh and Jane but they are going to do their own things now. They snagged a good director...now who's gonna play Castle

 

[Seen]

Jane is a tough guy to beat. However, if Marvel can snag Ed Norton for Hulk, then surely they can get someone at that caliber for The Punisher. Interesting how things happen? I have a feeling Punisher 2 will get the same approach The Incredible Hulk is getting.

As for actors ... none really spring to mind.

 

[Kable24]

Who cares?! I'm not going to see it if Tom Jane isn't playing the character. **** LGF and whoever they bring in now.

 

[Seen]

C'mon, let's be optimistic. At least cautiously optimistic. Who knows, what if Lionsgate and Marvel nab an actor who turns out an equal if not even better performance as The Punisher?

As good as Jane was, there are always others out there who could probably play the role just as well if not better.

 

[Kable24]

Won't be the same. Tom Jane is one actor who you can tell loved the character and loved the fans. I have so much respect for him to leave the project because they weren't going to deliver a movie that the fans...true Punisher fans would friggin' love. I am a diehard Punisher fan and I don't want a seguel made if TJ isn't involved.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

Well, according to the original source (which btw I linked in the Punisher update thread yesterday) Dahl is still not signed, but he's the frontrunner.

 

[Seen]

Won't be the same. Tom Jane is one actor who you can tell loved the character and loved the fans. I have so much respect for him to leave the project because they weren't going to deliver a movie that the fans...true Punisher fans would friggin' love. I am a diehard Punisher fan and I don't want a seguel made if TJ isn't involved.

Ah, that's a bit one-sided and fanboyish, if I may be so blunt and well ... ironic?

We don't know the project won't deliver. We haven't seen it yet, or even enough to know that for a fact. Perhaps Jane's problem was with the script, but who says Dahl can't deliver a killer product?

As for Jane's departure ... many said Michael Keaton WAS Batman, and couldn't be replaced. Many said Sean Connery WAS James Bond, and couldn't be replaced. Yet they were all replaced, and to some, with even better actors. The same can, and hopefully will, be said for The Punisher.

 

[Advanced Dark]

Same doesn't always mean better either. Fear of the unknown or what?

 

[Apollo]

for some reason i thought it was going to be brett ratner

 

[WTFimVENOM]

for some reason i thought it was going to be brett ratner

Don't even joke like that.....

 

[ghost_x]

I was just coming on here to post this, the article I read saying Dahl is in talks to direct, I didn't think it had been set in stone yet.

http://www.comics2film.com/FanFrame.php?f_id=26898

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Without TJ as FC, i'm not even gonna bother with this.

 

[chesslover]

Marty Scorcese.

 

[OddBob]

I like Dahl for director, but I'm barely interested in the movie without Jane. That's a huge disappointment to deal with first.

 

[Advanced Dark]

If Jane comes back...AWESOME. If not...if it looks good enough...most of us who were waiting for the sequel will go see it.

 

[Shuley]

Marty Scorcese.

I wouldn't want Scorsese to direct ANY comic film cause all you would get is another Ang Lee Hulk movie. I love Scorese but he needs to stick to the gangster films. No one does them better...

 

[Shuley]

John Dahl is awesome...You people need to watch "The Last Seduction", probably his best film. I'm not upset over losing Jane though,but I did like him and you can tell he was really into it.

 

[OddBob]

If Jane comes back...AWESOME. If not...if it looks good enough...most of us who were waiting for the sequel will go see it.

Of course I'll be seeing it regardless (even if Jane doesn't come back AND the movie turns out looking awful), just 'cause it's The Punisher.

 

[YJ1]

Interesting choice. Rounders was a fantastic film. My hopes have been elevated slightly.

Jane is a tough guy to beat. However, if Marvel can snag Ed Norton for Hulk, then surely they can get someone at that caliber for The Punisher. Interesting how things happen? I have a feeling Punisher 2 will get the same approach The Incredible Hulk is getting.

Rounders is a very good movie indeed.

The big difference is that Marvel themselves are in complete control of both Incredible Hulk and Iron Man. Punisher is at Lionsgate and Marvel is an approval partner only. I'm sure they'll land a good actor, however.

I wonder if the script will have to be re-worked to include more dialogue about his origin and need for revenge now? You can't rely on flashbacks or references to the first film because of the lead actor change. You also have to introduce the character for people that never even saw the first movie or know of the Punisher.

 

[Compi716]

...Awesome?

I dunno...this movie needs Jane. Let's pray that Jane comes back.

 

[ghost_x]

I wouldn't want Scorsese to direct ANY comic film cause all you would get is another Ang Lee Hulk movie. I love Scorese but he needs to stick to the gangster films. No one does them better...

What are you talking about? Scorcese would be ideal for a Punisher film. Scorcese is the guy you go to for hard to swallow violent gangster films, with a vigilante twist that is essentially The Punisher. Frankly I couldn't think of an established director more appropiate. It sounds like you believe that all accomplished filmmakers would turn a comic book movie into an arthouse indie flick, simply because Ang Lee didn't create a Hulk movie that had 2 hours of smashing.

 

[ghost_x]

...Awesome?

I dunno...this movie needs Jane. Let's pray that Jane comes back.

Unfortunaty I think Jane's a goner from this franchise now. Unless the studio gives in to his demands about the direction of this film, I don't think he will be attached to the one sheet. As sad as it is to see him go, all we can do is hope the director is able to cast someone just as/if not more suitable for the role, it can be done....but who is the question

 

[ghost_x]

Personally, at this moment in time, a name which comes to mind of someone I would like to see as Frank Castle would be Eric Mabius,

With a serious workout scheme to build some muscle mass, I think he would fit the role nicely