Daredevil season 2 will introduce a few new characters including The Punisher while the big bad from season one Kingpin isn’t expected to return…
Daredevil season 2 will return on Netflix in 2016 with new show runners in charge, a slew of new characters set to debut and they are going to hit the ground running as soon as the first episode begins.
The first season of the popular Marvel comics adaptation was a slow burn when it came to introducing Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) while building into the back stories for many of the characters on the canvas. New co-show runner Doug Petrie (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, American Horror Story) says that the benefit of picking up in season two is jumping right into the action in the first episode and it never slows down from there.
“The advantage of any sequel is you can dive right in,” Petrie said. “We hit the ground running and then we ran as fast as we fucking could.”
While one big bad is exiting this year — Vincent D’Onofrio isn’t returning as Kingpin for season two according to the report — there is a new vigilante in Hell’s Kitchen that will come in direct conflict with Daredevil.
Frank Castle aka The Punisher is a former special ops soldier, whose family is murdered and it sets him on a path to exact vengeance on criminals while acting as judge, jury and executioner. Castle has no fear in using lethal force to get his message across and that will serve as a real moral conundrum not only for Daredevil, who obviously opposes those tactics, but also the viewers who are living in a world of real gun violence everyday.
“Viewers watching the show will be rooting for this guy with a gun but we’re also going to force people — the way we force Matt — to second-guess themselves,” Petrie said. “Taking lethal justice into your own hands in America in 2015 is tricky shit. We have not shied away from the rich complicated reality of Now.
“If you’ve got a gun and you’re not the police you’re going to incite strong feelings. We’re stirring the pot and we’re aware of the headlines where we live and we’re trying to get people to think.”
According to Daredevil co-show runner Marco Ramirez (Sons of Anarchy), the team actually studied Robert DeNiro’s character in Taxi Driver as part of the inspiration for The Punisher, who shows up very early on in season two.
“He has a different moral code,” Ramirez said. “Matt is a devout Catholic — and you rarely see a character who’s a devotee anything on TV. Frank has Hammurabi’s Code. It’s like letting a great white shark into the water.”
The Punisher will be played by Walking Dead veteran Jon Bernthal, who was very excited to land the role, but also took the part very seriously because he knew how much fans loved and adored this character.
There aren’t many days when he walks down the street when someone doesn’t approach him and express just how much they want this version of The Punisher to get it right while so many other versions of the character have been wrong.
”People have been coming up to me on the streets of New York saying, ‘Do not mess this up,’” Bernthal said. “This character has resonated with law enforcement and military. He’s brought the war home with him in the worst possible way. And the best thing about him is that if he offends you, he just doesn’t care.”
The third major character joining Daredevil season 2 will be Elektra, who is Matt Murdock’s ex-girlfriend from college and another famous anti-hero/villain from the Marvel Universe.
Elodie Yung will play Elektra and it doesn’t take her long to create conflict in Matt’s personal life after he’s started to get closer and closer with Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) as season two picks up.
“Matt’s a deeply moral complicated guy and she’s just the best bad girlfriend you can possibly have,” Petrie said. “She does everything wrong and attractive, she’s his id, the wild side. Matt is always taming his wild side. Elektra just lets it out. He’s both repulsed and deeply drawn to that.”
Daredevil season two will debut on Netflix in 2016 although no debut date has been announced for the series.
H/T: EW
