Recently, Ray Stevenson has been doing the rounds to promote his latest movie, Kill The Irishman, and when we caught up with him to talk about the film the subject moved on from mobsters to Norse Gods, Musketeers, and even The Punisher; with Ray (who played Marvel’s ultra-violent vigilante in the most recent Punisher film; Punisher: War Zone) hinting that he’d love to return as the murderous crime-stopper.
Ray was quick to say that while he “really would love to” play The Punisher again, “it’s a tough sell, because Lionsgate didn’t really help [War Zone], and although fans were very happy with the movie, the marketing campaign wasn’t really up to scratch, and it’s a tough sell making an R-rated movie about a comic-book character.”
Yet while War Zone may not have been the commercial success the studio hoped for, those who did see it were very impressed with the much more violent tone it took than the Thomas Jane Punisher movie from 2004, and there may be just enough pressure to coax Marvel into bringing the character back to life once again; as Ray insists while there’s been “nothing official” mentioned, he and Marvel executives have had “one or two conversations” about him possibly stepping back into Frank Castle’s boots once again.
Ray also believes that appearing in Thor (another Marvel property) wouldn’t hamper his chances of returning to The Punisher; “it’s actually quite the opposite; and that was possibly the greatest compliment that could have been paid to any actor, because Marvel’s unwritten precedent is that once you’ve played one of their major characters you don’t come back and play another one, but I got invited back to play another major character; because they thought ‘he can actually pull this off.’”
Though while fans may have enjoyed the most recent Punisher movie, Ray may be “very proud of War Zone”, and believe “there are just so many places we can go” with the franchise, he also insists that the conversations he and Marvel have had are “nothing to get too excited about” at this stage, but is also keen to state that “Marvel are a delight to work for” and said “if they ever want to resurrect it, I’d be in like a shot.”
Matt Wheeldon.
Source: Exclusive.
Kill The Irishman is out on Blu-ray and DVD on September 26th, and you can find the full interview with Ray Stevenson discussing the film here.
