IGN has posted a rather detailed plot information about the film's story, confirming the villain to be indeed Billy Russo aka Jigsaw.
- Aug 9, 2007
AceShowbiz - As the story of Frank Castle aka The Punisher continues in "The Punisher 2", it is known that the anti-hero will land his feet in New York in his crusade to punish violent criminals in America, but what he will experience there has really been a big question until now.
Yes, IGN has delightfully brought up to the surface information about what will become the story of the project, which is due to begin shooting this fall in Montreal, Canada for a 2008 release. It appears that the focus of the movie will center not only on Castle but also on the villain, confirmed to be Billy Russo aka Jigsaw.
Instead of being a gunman for the Maggia crime family as found in the graphic novel series, here Jigsaw will be depicted to work for his uncle Gaitano Cesare, a mafia don whom he openly despises. Got his face disfigured because of The Punisher, he runs the waterfront docks of New York City where he expects a lucrative "biological" shipment in from a Romanian crimelord, Cristu Bulat. The item delivered, however, is suspected by Cesare to be sold to a Muslim terrorist cell in Queens once Jigsaw gets it.
In the meantime, the hunt for Castle heats up in New York when FBI Special Agent Luke McDonald becomes the bureau's liaison to the NYPD on the case. McDonald is learned to be obsessed with catching Castle for very personal reasons, having his ex-partner Nick Donatelli unintentionally killed by the vigilante.
Castle and Jigsaw's path later cross when the latter targets Donatelli's widow Angie and her child Gracie for execution, bringing the former to not only go face-to-face with the villain but also with an army of multi-ethnic criminals, all of whom keen on taking him down. Meanwhile, there is still the biological shipment sale that Castle has to stop.
UPDATE 08/10/2007: Superhero Hype! has came up with another info reporting the flick now has a working title of "The Punisher: Welcome Back Frank" with filming to be commenced late September under the direction of Lexi Alexander.
