By Marvel and Netflix have decided to cancel a panel on their upcoming Punisher series at this weekend’s New York Comic-Con following Sunday night’s massacre in Las Vegas, which left more than 50 dead and hundreds of others injured.
It’s a decision that makes a lot of sense – the tragic incident is the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history, and the ensuing days have again ushered in a conversation about the accessibility of firearms in the country the frequency with which things like this happen. It doesn’t seem likely that many people are too stoked to celebrate a character who arms himself to the teeth and takes on criminals with lethal force.
The companies issued a joint statement explaining the decision:
We are stunned and saddened by this week’s senseless act in Las Vegas. After careful consideration, Netflix and Marvel have decided it wouldn’t be appropriate for Marvel’s The Punisher to participate in New York Comic Con. Our thoughts continue to be with the victims and those affected by this tragedy.
Marvel’s upcoming Punisher series, like the comic books of the same name, follow veteran Frank Castle and his one-man war on crime after his family is killed. The series follows the character’s Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the second season of Daredevil. It’s been touted as the most violent MCU outing yet, and early promotional material hasn’t shied away from that aspect of the character.
It’s currently unknown when The Punisher‘s first season will debut on Netflix. It’s been announced as coming by the end of 2017, and the exact date was expected to be be revealed at NYCC, but now it’s hard to say when that will be revealed. It’s also entirely possible that Netflix will decide to push the debut into 2018 to put gain some distance from the event.
The Punisher stars Jon Bernthal, Deborah Ann Woll, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jason R. Moore and Jaime Ray Newman.