Source: Variety

John Travolta has been hired to play the bad guy in Artisan's movie adaptation of THE PUNISHER. In the film the GREASE superstar will play an underworld player named Howard Saint who once went on the straight and narrow path, only to sink back into the criminal organization when he suffers a devastating personal loss. Sounds like Saint could be the mirror image of The Punisher himself.

Thomas Jane will play The Punisher, a.k.a. Frank Castle. In the movie version Castle was an undercover FBI agent who, on the verge of retiring, loses his entire family due to mob retaliation. Filming starts this summer for a summer '04 release.