Things continue to move slowly in the land of Punisher: War Zone. Every update is so minor that I can't even post it -- even the newly launched official website hasn't managed to offer anything for discussion. There's not even any good photos of Ray Stevenson as the titular hero. I'm stuck illustrating this piece with a photo from Rome because I think a handsome man like Stevenson deserves more than a dark profile shot. Just imagine he's wearing a black t-shirt, and there's a warehouse or dark street behind him, and it'll look better than the official stills do. (Jessica posted those for you back in January. Yeah, it's been that long.)

But, at last, there is an update, via director Lexi Alexander's blog. The studio has pushed the release all the way back to December. (It was originally set for September.) Allegedly, it's not because they are unhappy with the film, but because they think it will do better numbers. "They also moved our release date to December 5th, which is, according to my reps, a much, much better date. I myself would have thought that people will think twice about going to see an extremely violent movie the closer it gets to Jesus' B-day, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or whatever other holy holiday you're celebrating. Well, the box office records prove different and instead, all you sick f**** get more blood thirsty that time of year. (And I say that with lovingly affection, cause I'm relying on all the sick f**** to show up)." Ah, Christmas -- the holly and the ivy, and the spraying of semi automatics.

I think I can speak for most fans of Marvel Comic's Punisher when I say that in light of just how crappy previous Punisher flicks have been in the past, then a 're-boot' was really the only sensible option (though I'm not sure it's a re-boot; perhaps a continuation or something along those lines). Latino Review is now hosting three new images from Punisher: War Zone straight from director Lexi Alexander's blog (which you can also view here, to the right, and after the jump). The last picture we got wasn't exactly the most illuminating when it comes to details, and, to be honest, I couldn't make out much here either. On the up side, at least star Ray Stevenson no longer looks like Steven Seagal's long lost brother.

Taking over where Thomas Jane and Dolph Lundgren left off, Stevenson stars as Frank Castle (aka The Punisher); when his family is wiped out by the mob, he becomes a one man army pegging off criminals and mobsters everywhere. Joining Stevenson are Dominic West as Jigsaw (who fans might remember from the comics, albeit from a different storyline) and Wayne Knight (better known as Jerry's nemesis Newman) as Microchip.

Erik got the chance to talk with director Lexi Alexander about the need for a remake of the classic character. Alexander said, "I would say it's a complete different re-boot, just because neither one of the previous [films] were relevant. And with Castle, it's one story -- the mythology stays the same -- and I think I just have a very very different take on it. I was lucky to put it in the right environment, which was dark and cold". Judging by the photos on her blog, it looks like she succeeded in creating that 'environment'. Shooting for Punisher: War Zone wrapped back in December and is scheduled to hit theaters on September 12th, 2008. Check out two more pics after the jump ...

Pictured above: Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle aka "The Punisher." (Click on the image for a larger version)

Cinematical was lucky enough to attend a conference call earlier today with The Punisher: War Zone director Lexi Alexander in which we talked about the new film, the characters and the exciting Punisher universe. Above you will find the first image from the film, featuring Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle (aka The Punisher), a former FBI agent who wages war on the criminal underworld following the death of his family. The film arrives in theaters on September 12th, 2008. Here's a bit of our conversation:

Does this movie take place more in the Marvel universe or in its own world?

Lexi Alexander: Well I think in the sense of the other Marvel characters, it's definitely in its own world in terms of location, though, we call it the Marvel New York because, you know, rather than setting it in the real New York, we wanted it to have a little bit of a surreal feeling.

What one thing do you think distinguishes your take on The Punisher compared to the last Punisher movies that fans of the comic will truly appreciate?

LA: Well, the last Punisher movie really wasn't relevant to us. There's a lot of comparison to it, but none of the people on my team ever looked at that and said how can we be different or better -- we just kind of made our own film. The one thing I concentrated on was to really really make it as close to the MAX series as possible. I think we really achieved it as far as the look, as well as the tone. When I look at the dailies that I'm getting, I seriously feel like I'm looking at a MAX comic book right in front of me.

Related question: I think one thing the comic fans will realize immediately is that the world we created feels like the comic book in terms of the look as well.

Will this be a Hard-R Punisher?

LA: Well, it definitely will be a Hard R, and luckily Lionsgate's been great about it. They haven't given me any guidelines in terms of violence. I think they're a real good studio to make a violent movie, and I really like violent movies. So it's definitely going to be a Hard R.

Photo credit: Jonathan Wenk/Lionsgate

Recently, when Paddy Considine was being considered for the role of the villain Jigsaw in The Punisher: War Zone, a fan questioned why the movie would cast a Brit as an Italian mobster. That fan will probably continue wondering, because, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate has finally announced the actor who won the part over Considine, and it is another English actor, Dominic West. If you remember, Considine was offered the role when the first choice had to pass, but then that first choice ended up taking it after all. So, West must have been that first choice. Funny, I was expecting someone more well-known, but I guess with recent appearances in 300 and Hannibal Rising and a recurring part on the popular television series The Wire, West is still more famous than Cinderella Man's Considine (personally, I can only place West in 28 Days, while I've seen much of Considine's work). For those unfamiliar with the comics, Jigsaw has a torn-up and re-stitched face, so it isn't like audiences will be recognizing West's own mug anyway.

Joining West is a more familiar actor who has also just been cast in the movie. Everyone's favorite conniving fat man, Wayne Knight (Seinfeld's "Newman"), will play Microchip (aka Linus Lieberman), the lone confidant who works with The Punisher, supplying him with guns and ammo -- think James Bond's Q meets Batman's Alfred, says Wikipedia. Because we can expect nothing less from Knight, though, I have to assume he also stabs The Punisher in the back and then gets eaten by dinosaurs. West and Knight join Ray Stevenson, as The Punisher, and the recently announced Dash Mikok (Romeo + Juliet's "Benvolio"), as Detective Soap, Colin Salmon (Resident Evil), as Agent Budiansky, and Doug Hutchison (The Green Mile) as LBJ (aka Looney Bin Jim). The comic adaptation will be directed by Lexi Alexander and may be released as early as late 2008.

Either somebody at Lionsgate is reading Cinematical, or we just happen to think alike. Earlier this month, when the studio announced the next Punisher movie was a do-over, I suggested going with the stand-alone title The Punisher: War Zone. Well, they didn't completely go with my idea -- they left off the The -- but according to ComingSoon.net, they came pretty close. Of course, a million or so comic book fans could have come up with the same thing, since the title is the same as one of the many Marvel series starring the popular anti-hero. However, even the comic book title was a little bit different -- it had the The but featured no colon. The Punisher War Zone ran for a somewhat skimpy 41 issues (plus two annuals), from 1992 to 1995, and as far as I know had no specific distinction from the main Punisher series. Lionsgate could have also gone with the longer-running title The Punisher War Journal, which was a series from 1988 to 1995 and is now also a new, current series. Anything would have been a better choice than what the IMDb currently has listed -- The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank.

As I mentioned, Punisher: War Zone will be a totally isolated movie, with no connection to the previous adaptations from 1989 (the Dolph Lundgren one) and 2004 (the Thomas Jane one). The franchise reboot will be directed by Lexi Alexander (Hooligans) and will star Ray Stevenson (HBO's Rome) as the vigilante Frank Castle, aka The Punisher. All that is known about the plot is that it will be set in New York City and involves Castle's pursuit of a mobster. Personally, the whole time I was reading comics, I thought this was the only plot ever in the Punisher titles. I have to admit, though, that aside from The Punisher Meets Archie, I never even flipped through a Punisher book. Still, my ignorance and expectations aside, I'd much rather watch any comic book movie set in the Big Apple than set in Tampa, so at least that factor has me interested in this latest version.

Without Thomas Jane returning for The Punisher 2, Lionsgate Films has decided to reboot and go for a fresh start. Of course, the studio is hoping for a new franchise with this new effort, so hopefully Ray Stevenson, who we previously learned is the new Frank Castle/Punisher, will want to or will be contractually obligated to stick around for sequels. Also, the fans will hopefully be satisfied with the new incarnation of Marvel's popular anti-hero, who will now appropriately be in pursuit of mobsters in New York City rather than Miami* Tampa (the setting of Artisan/Lionsgate's 2004 effort). The decision to reboot could also be because Lionsgate didn't officially greenlight the last film -- the studio only acquired it when it bought Artisan -- and wants to redo it their own way. Because we all know it isn't uncommon to produce a sequel in which the main character is played by a substitute actor.

The thing that makes this reboot more interesting is that the 2004 film was already like a replacement for the 1989 version, which starred Dolph Lundgren. So technically this is the third attempt to get the character right. Some might liken it to next year's The Incredible Hulk, which is a reboot of 2003's Hulk, itself somewhat a replacement for the 1977 TV-movie/pilot, The Incredible Hulk. I wonder, though, what Lionsgate could possibly call the new Punisher movie without confusing audiences. At least the new Hulk movie has added "The Incredible" to the title. Perhaps Lionsgate will drop the "The" and just go with Punisher? Or will it go with a completely new title a la The Dark Knight or at least a subtitle, say The Punisher: War Zone? Whatever the title, the movie better be filled with plenty of martial arts, since former world kickboxing champ Lexi Alexander (Hooligans) is directing it. If you remember, he** she took over when John Dahl dropped out, claiming the studio wouldn't spend enough on the film and the script was no good. I'm not sure if Lionsgate has retooled the screenplay since then, but Variety now credits it to the writers Nick Santora (TV's Prison Break), Kurt Sutter (TV's The Shield), Matt Holloway (Iron Man) and Art Marcum (Iron Man) -- formerly it was Sutter with Stuart Beattie and Jonathan Hensleigh.

* This was just an ignorant mistake, sorry about that.

**sorry about the typo, I knew she is a she