This Tweet Proves The Weeknd Has Something To Do With 'The Punisher' & Fans Are Freaking Out

When it came to the first five shows in Netflix's Mavrel-verse, it seemed like the moment one show ended, we got the premiere date for the next. Jessica Jones begat a Luke Cage date, Luke Cage begat an Iron Fist date, etc etc. Many of these dates were up to six months in advance. But that's not so with The Punisher, which supposedly arrives "Fall 2017" but still have no fixed date. So we have to ask, will The Punisher premiere soon?

Earlier this week, the Instagram account associated with The Punisher dropped a video that had to numbers "1" "0" and "7" visible where the date should be. Fans immediately wondered if this was 10/7/2017. Why that date? Because that's this coming Saturday, the same day at The Punisher's official panel at New York Comic Con.

Theories ran the gamut of the sensible: "This must be when they will announce the premiere", to the hopeful: "Those of us going might get to see the premiere episode in a private screening!", to the insane: "The show will drop on 11:59 10/7, after the panel is over."

We initially pooh-poohed that last one as wishful thinking... until, of all people, The Weeknd sent out the following tweet:

Did you feel that tremor in the force? That was a million The Weeknd fans and Marvel fans squeeing at once. Apparently whatever *is* happening at The Punisher panel this Saturday at NYCC sounds like it's going to be more than just a premiere date announcement.

But how is The Weeknd involved exactly? We know that for Luke Cage, at least, there was quite a bit of live music used in the show, as well as some highly regarded artists on the soundtrack. Could The Weeknd be part of The Punisher soundtrack? Will we get a live performance of one of his songs at the panel, as part of a showing of the first episode?

What we should probably discount, if anything, is the entire series dropping on the 7th. As fun as that sounds, it's simply not a practical choice for Netflix. (If nothing else, hundreds of entertainment sites would have to go into overdrive to cover it due to lack of screener time ahead of it.)

But that's where our other piece of news comes in. Because apparently someone in the UK slipped, and revealed the release date... on the other side of the pond.

This was spotted by a redditor and published a week ago. Apparently Netflix UK gets the show October 13, the Friday *after* the NYCC panel.

Now that doesn't mean Netflix US is getting The Punisher on Friday the 13. While Netflix release dates sometimes line up across countries, that's not always true. (There are rights issues and stuff that can get in the way.)

But it should be noted that so far Netflix UK and Netflix US have gotten their Marvel shows on the same day, most recently with The Defenders which premieres at 12 midnight August 18, 2017 on both sides of the pond. So that's a very good sign that NYCC will be announcing a premiere date... One that gives entertainment reporters and reviewers a week to prepare for it's arrival.

That also suggests that those at the panel will probably get a preview of the first episode as well, in order to write up reviews and build hype. As if the prospect of a mini-concert by The Weeknd wasn't already enough hype building as it is.

The Punisher is the sixth Marvel show to arrive on Netflix, consisting of 13 episodes, premiering sometimes this Fall 2017. Hopefully soon!