Tom Hardy Wants to Play The Punisher - Talks "Suicide Squad" Departure

Tom Hardy wants to play The Punisher - talks "Suicide Squad" departure

Mad Max has Punishment on his mind…

By Dan Uppington

Before the release of his next big screen adventure Mad Max: Fury Road, Hardy was asked by Collider if he would like to explore the prospect of possibly playing other comic book characters after his successful portrayal of Batman’s formidable nemesis Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. Along with Splinter Cell, Hardy states that he’d like to take on the role of Frank Castle, A.K.A The Punisher.

Collider: I heard Warner Bros. has a few more superhero movies, maybe one or two that they’re developing [Laughs].
HARDY: I want The Punisher… I want The Punisher, or Splinter Cell, I want something…I don’t know what I want.

You as Punisher could be very interesting.HARDY: I’m not big enough to be The Punisher, I’m 5’9” [Laughs].

But I actually think that adds to the character.HARDY: Frank Castle, I would love it. Is that him, isn’t it?

Yeah. It’s Frank Castle.

Played previously by Ray Stevenson in "Punisher: Warzone" (2008) and Tom Jane in "The Punisher" (2004) fans have been left somewhat wanting when compared to other Marvel properties on film. Hardy has certainly proved with a viable back-catalogue of intense character outings, that he's no stranger to playing persona's haunted by tragic pasts, but ultimately can still bring the pain and kick seven shades of sin out of his adversaries; his roles in Warrior, Bronson and Lawless all come to mind … as well as that minor thing in 2012 where he, you know … broke the Batman.

Hardy is no stranger to Comic Book action

If Marvel are keeping their beady eyes on credible stars and their acting wish lists, now may be the time to call Hardy’s people. With the success of Marvel’s "Daredevil" series, the show’s star Charlie Cox and others are lobbying for The Punisher to appear in the second series of the hit show, though personally I would love to see Tom Jane back in the skulled shirt after watching the gritty short film Dirty Laundry, a fan-film produced by Adi Shankar in 2012 continuing the Punisher legacy, with Jane reprising his much-loved take on Frank Castle. Check it out here.

Thomas Jane as Frank Castle in "The Punisher"

Returning to Hardy, he also has spoken recently regarding his choice to leave the in-progress "Suicide Squad" film, currently shooting in Toronto. Blasted by some, the unaware masses thought it was his dislike of the script that drove him to stand down, when in fact it’s quite the opposite. Hardy has heavily praised the script and is gutted to have to give up the role of Rick Flagg due to his other commitments, most notably the overrunning of his current film-in-production The Revenant. With his departure from the project, Joel Kinman has replaced Hardy, and from the group mugshot, I feel Kinmam is a slightly better fit. Tom Hardy was clearly passionate about the project, check out his in-depth explanation in full below.

"There’s a very practical element as to why I've missed out on that foray, which is because Alejandro [G. Inarritu] has overshot by three months in Calgary, so we've got to go back out to Patagonia or Alaska to continue shooting The Revenant which has turned into a much bigger beast than we thought, but that also looks exceptional. Literally we wrapped in Calgary for now until we go back in July. It would have smashed the two, I would've had a beard. It was just not gonna happen so I got ass-slammed technically out of Suicide Squad, gutted, so I had to hand it over to Joel Kinnaman, who will do an amazing job. It’s just I got bumped out, and that’s cool that’s the way it is. Warner Bros. is my home studio and I love them so I was really bummed out. I wanted to work on that and I know the script is really f****** alley and I also know what’s gonna happen with The Joker and Harley Quinn in that; I won’t give away too much…it’s f****** alley. And that whole territory is something that I would certainly—I mean, everybody loves The Joker. Everybody loves The Joker. Will Smith is a dope guy, but everybody loves The Joker and that’s gonna, I think, be a very important film for fans."

Though he is busy with his other projects, Hardy would take anything to throw himself back into the superhero game. And apparently already has. New information emerging this morning indicates that he is working with DC on a popular property that has been “right under everyone’s nose” this whole time. Perhaps a Superman Villain? Bane again? Shazam? Whatever it is we'll be sure to keep you covered so keep it locked here at Cape and Cowl.