Call me Cruise (aka crazy) but I actually thought Lexi was a good pick and I have no issue with Ray Stevenson either. He at least LOOKS the age of the Punisher who is no spring chicken at this time. Jane always looked so young to me, a lil too handsome with a “beat me” face.

I am not going in expecting a movie the same calibre as Iron Man, but I am going in expecting brutality, gore and some good ole shoot em up fun where people are dropping like flies. Like the first Punisher where guys were dying left and right, and chicks were not exempt from feeling the wrath!

it has been acknowledged that they take from ennis, but also the early 90s punisher…the one that failed so miserably that marvel killed off the character….that punisher is fucking boring…as was the lundgren punisher and his bigger fight with the english language.

so now you cast titus pullo and the fan boys exclaim that he looks just like frank…..except he doesnt….he looks like a big limey, which is what he is

they exclaim that he is a better actor than jane…but outside of rome, nothing he has done has been seen outside of britain (except a few guest roles in some american tv shows)

they show you a teaser that is laughable, then follow it up with a music vid that is incomprehensible and has the worst heavy metal song i have ever heard.

they tell you that they havent fired lexi….but now she is a consultant??? which basically means they will keep paying her so she keeps her yap shut

oh, and if you buy the honeymoon bit, ive got some swamp land to sell you in florida

punisher will die with this movie….thereby allowing marvel to buy it back and try again in about 5 years or so

Handcock also had the single biggest box office draw movie star today in it… that MIGHT have had something to do with it.

Hancock also didn’t have to fight against the poorly received original from just a few years before. These are totally different situations.

All this and a whole lot more was said about Hancock before it came out.

It’s made hundreds of millions and a sequel is being looked at. Go figure.

One of the more gossipy events from Comic-Con was the absence of director Lexi Alexander from the panel discussing Punisher: War Zone. An announcement like “she’s on her honeymoon this weekend” would not have raised so many eyebrows if there hadn’t already been so many rumblings about strained relations between her and the studio, Lionsgate.

We got a call from an inside source, whom we’ll nerdily call Detective Soap, that’s been privy to a lot of the back and forth. He tells me that trouble between the studio and Lexi started months ago when Lionsgate sent her some publicity materials for her approval that she put up on her blog. Punisher fans (like us) gobbled that up and sent that link around, but it wasn’t all part of the marketing campaign that Lionsgate had in mind. (And when you figure that this is the studio behind franchise successes like Saw, figure they know what they’re doing.) When the studio asked her to remove the pics, she went a little bananas, claiming that this was unfair and stifling censorship – a harbinger of overreactions to come.

Since then, reactions to notes and suggestions from the studio – which are completely normal on a film of this size – have been met either with complete ease or raging hostility. “They say she’s a bit like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” the source confided.

When it came time to prepare for San Diego Comic-Con, Lexi realized that she was going to be on her honeymoon and saw no reason to change those dates. She was not removed from the panel or forbidden to come, but few at the studio were heartbroken she couldn’t attend. The honeymoon was not a lie or an excuse – that part is actual straight dope.

The funny part is, my source tells me, that the raw footage is fantastic. The visuals are great and there are some awesome action sequences – but like any film of this size it needs tweaking. Alexander’s previous films have been low budget independents and perhaps she’s just not accustomed to the machinations of larger budget filmmaking. There is, indeed, a new post-production team in place (and new composer), folks that have worked closely with the Marvel camp on their recent projects.

The project, though, has not been taken completely out of her hands as some recent internet postings might lead you to believe. She is still contracted as a consultant on the film and is involved in further decision-making. Detective Soap just hopes that it is more of the Jekyll and less the Hyde.

When we have more info, we’ll let you know. Until then – go deep with The Punisher at our Punisher HQ.