Daredevil is back, and oh boy was it an excruciating wait. We’ve witnessed every other Defenders’ Season 2 outing, but it’s finally time for the friendly neighbourhood devil to stretch his legs on 19th October. We’ve seen that he’s still on his feet, after the nasty accident at the end of the first season of The Defenders, but what kind of shape he’ll be in is anyone’s guess.
The ground-breaking series was the first Marvel show on Netflix to present the dark and gritty underbelly of the MCU. Whilst the superheroes of the movies had been, up until that point, facing more significant threats from faraway lands and worlds, Daredevil was on the ground in New York City, walking the beat and taking on the convenient local villains (who are also brilliant). By day, he’s Matthew Murdock (Charlie Cox), a blind lawyer, but he chucks on a mask at night to fight crime and right wrongs in ways that the law can’t, helped by some super senses and martial arts skills. His friends include journalist Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and best mate and fellow lawyer Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson), while his foes have ranged from ‘Kingpin’ Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) – who is set to return after a season on the periphery as puppet master – to the Yakuza and The Punisher (Jon Bernthal).
However, from the looks of the teasers, Daredevil may have had a bit of a tiff with his law-abiding half, who can’t get things done during the daylight hours with the same flair and finality as the man without fear. Along with a new ominous and lawless aesthetic, we’ve got a new showrunner this season in Erik Oleson, who has come from the likes of The Man in the High Castle and Arrow. Then we’ve got actors Jay Ali and Wilson Bethel joining the cast and getting mixed up in this whole Daredevil and Kingpin business. It has been confirmed that Bethel will be playing Benjamin Poindexter, which is the alias of classic Daredevil villain Bullseye, the guy with nigh infallible aim, whether he’s shooting a gun or lethally throwing a satsuma. There have also been multiple references to a Sister Maggie, who will be played by Joanne Whalley and will nurse Matt back to health after the climactic scenes in The Defenders.
With such a strong cast and such a powerful storyline to come, having festered in the back of Murdock’s mind after Season 2’s debate that antihero-turned nice guy Frank Castle (The Punisher) could get more done than Matty ‘cos when he killed the bad guys stayed down and when Daredevil got involved they’d just get back up, we’re going to see quite a different side to our red horned friend. So long to the good old days of the Hell’s Kitchen “avocados” Nelson & Murdock when everything was a bit more simple (although it never really can be with a catholic lawyer turned crime-fighting superhero).
Daredevil is set for release on the 19th October on Netflix. Watch the teaser below.
