With Thunderbolts*, I mean *The New Avengers still in theaters, and the arrival of Marvel’s first family coming soon with July’s Fantastic Four: First Steps, fans are feasting. There’s currently no shortage of Marvel content at our fingertips. As the MCU builds towards a total collapse of the Multiverse and the closing of a significant chapter of storytelling with Avengers: Secret Wars, there’s a street-level world that is just finding its footing on Disney+ with shows like Echo and Daredevil: Born Again. The gritty underbelly of New York City is waiting to be explored again, continuing the narrative set up in the Netflix series. Something is brewing as the groundwork is just now being laid out, as we’ll see hopefully next year with the second season of Daredevil: Born Again, along with the highly anticipated Punisher special. It’s the latter that brings us here today, as we have a possible working title and production company under which it’ll be functioning, but this time with an interesting a twist.
[Warning: Possible spoilers for the upcoming Punisher special are below!]
Acid Pop Productions changes hands at Marvel Studios
I want to begin by thanking one of our Discord members, Titan, who originally brought this information to my attention through a friend, which eventually led me on a wild goose chase with our sources to find out what is going on. Titan’s friend pointed out that Production Weekly, which collects production data and centrally locates it all in one place, recently listed the Punisher special on their website and connected it to the production company Acid Pop Productions, LLC.
Now, those of you who have been with The Cosmic Circus for a long while might remember that we reported back in August 2022 that production company was attached to Armor Wars, with the working title “Rigatoni,” which was indeed true at the time. However, after years of developmental hell and little to no movement on the project, it’s believed that the project has been shelved.
Is it possible that it’s also tied to the abysmal reception of Secret Invasion, which also featured Don Cheadle’s Rhodey? Who knows, but in recent years, it seems like Marvel Studios has distanced itself from an Armor Wars show/film as they refocus on the overarching narratives and what stories play best into it.
Regardless of why, it is true that Marvel Studios is reusing one of its production companies for a new project. Could it be like Production Weekly said, and it’s now attached to the Punisher special? Quite possibly, although with the working title and the trajectory of the new plan Marvel Studios has, perhaps it’s hinting at something else
Marvel Studios is setting sail on a pirate ship
Our sources confirmed to us that Acid Pop Productions is no longer associated with the “Rigatoni” working title, but now has a new working title: “Jolly Roger.” So, what does the pirate flag have to do with the Punisher special?
The most obvious answer is that it references the symbol blazoned across his chest, as the bright white skull looks similar to the one on the pirate flag. It could also refer to what the Jolly Roger meant back in the 18th century. At the height of its popularity, the Jolly Roger was flown on pirate ships preceding or during an attack. It served as a warning to other ships, letting them know of the danger that was coming and striking fear in their hearts.
Therefore, perhaps Marvel Studios is alluding to an all-out war led by Frank Castle against those who captured him and are using the Punisher symbol for bad. Much like the waving Jolly Roger on a pirate ship, those who see Frank coming will be terrified of what their fate is to become.
However, there’s another possibility: what if Production Weekly got it wrong? What if… Acid Pop Productions is not associated with the Punisher special but connected to a different Marvel IP instead?
Could “Jolly Roger”/Acid Pop Productions be a mutant project?
But there is some information here that could hint at it possibly being another project instead of The Punisher. According to our sources, “Jolly Roger”/Acid Pop Productions is being associated with a streaming series project, not just a one-off special, such as the upcoming Punisher project. It is completely possible that the new Punisher was once developed as an entire series, or that, as it’s being worked on, it became more than one special can contain, and is now a series, but again, that is all purely speculation at this point.
That doesn’t mean that “Jolly Roger”/Acid Pop Productions isn’t The Punisher special, but it also made us wonder… what if it’s something else? As we know by now, Marvel Studios has changed its focus, as Bob Iger recently confirmed once again during their investors call, with the studio putting a greater emphasis on the films. Also, with a more focused approach, stories are going to be more intertwined with the overall narrative that Marvel Studios is building.
With the next phase focusing on the Marvel mutants, could “Jolly Roger” instead be associated with something more in line with that? Shout out to my friend Vin, who enthusiastically helped me research this when he should have been sleeping. That being said, when I mentioned to him about Jolly Roger, he quickly thought of The Marauders. Who are the Marauders, you say? Great question.
More about The Marauders
The Marauders are a team of mercenaries with incredible superpowers who work for Mr. Sinister—at least, that was their story at the beginning. Sinister’s desire to understand genetics and the mutations that occur within the mutants pushes him to extreme measures, including wiping out the Morlocks, a group of Mutants living underground as outcasts. Mr. Sinister’s pursuit of pure mutant lineage doesn’t allow for this, so he formed a team to do his bidding.
The Marauders have seen many team iterations throughout the years, with a changing roster of heroes and leaders, although their stance against the X-Men has been relatively constant. And for those asking how they are related to the Jolly Roger, in recent publications of the team, their logo features a Jolly Roger Skull. Not only that, but in The Marauders series from 2019 (pictured above), the team was led by Kitty Pryde. Perhaps the skulls, I mean stars, have aligned for her to make a return in a series.
Rumors are that Mr. Sinister is going to be the first villain of the rebooted X-Men franchise, which, if so, the introduction of The Marauders as a series makes perfect sense. Having a show that explores another aspect of a major villain, specifically showing his dealings outside the scope of what happens in the X-Men Film, which makes the new Mutant Saga feel more cohesive and expansive.
The Punisher or Mutants? What do you think?
What do you think of this working title and production company combination? Could “Jolly Roger” be for The Punisher? Or is it connected to a mutant project for Disney+? Let us know on social media @mycosmiccircus or @TheCosmicCircus.com on Bluesky. You can also join our Discord via the Patreon to discuss with other fans!
