First Daredevil Season Two Recurring Cast Member Announced

Image Source: Twitter (@Daredevil)

Try as he might, the First Defender can't take down his foes without incurring a severe punishment, it would seem.
Marvel Studios' TV division has this week confirmed the first recurring cast member set to feature in the second season of their ongoing Netflix superhero drama Marvel's Daredevil.

Based in the (mostly) expansive confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this Charlie Cox-starring series marks but the first step in a larger journey for the two studios, both of whom have already voiced their intent for shows such as Marvel's Jessica Jones and Marvel's Luke Cage to pave the way for a team-up series called The Defenders, the latter of which would effectively act as a small-screen version of Marvel's Avengers Assemble if placed in the right director's confident hands.

Before all of that, though, there's at least another season of Daredevil to come, and whilst the programme's head honchos would be nothing short of fools if they refused to bring back Vincent D'Onofrio's much-loved antagonist figure Wilson Fisk, Season One's primary antagonist evidently won't be alone this time around. Enter Jon Bernthal, an up-and-coming thespian whose work in productions such as The Wolf of Wall Street (and The Accountant, a new big-screen thriller starring Ben Affleck set for release next year) has apparently earned him the multi-episode role of renowned mercenary-for-hire the Punisher. Naturally, the extent of the presence of Frank Castle's bloodthirsty alter-ego will only become completely apparent once Season Two rolls around early next year, but suffice to say that the character has a long history in Marvel's comic-books as a ruthless yet inherently uprighteous figure whose ends usually justify his means (at least from his perspective).

Given Bernthal's ever-rising prominence and indeed the beloved status of the Punisher (which, surprisingly, hasn't been diminished by the pair of dire film adaptations which landed in cinemas during the 2000s), it's little wonder that Jeph Loeb, the resident boss of Marvel's TV sector, has plenty to say on the subject and as ever, we've rounded up both the most significant parts of his comments as well as the official précis used to describe the impact Castle will have on the lives of Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil) and those around him upon his arrival in Hell's Kitchen ("nothing" will supposedly be "the same" once Castle's done, perhaps indicating that a key supporting character such as Foggy Nelson or Karen Page - who is certainly no longer with readers in the comics - might bite the Punisher's bullet next Spring):

• MARVEL.COM ON THE PUNISHER'S ROLE IN SEASON TWO - "He is a vigilante who aims to clean up New York City's Hell's Kitchen by any means necessary, no matter how lethal the results."
• JEPH LOEB ON BERNTHAL & HIS NEW ROLE - "Jon Bernthal brings an unmatched intensity to every role he takes on, with a potent blend of power, motivation and vulnerability that will connect with audiences. Castle's appearance will bring dramatic changes to the world of Matt Murdock and nothing will be the same."

Marvel's Daredevil will return for a second season of blood-drenched escapades exclusively on Netflix in 2016.