Marvel: ‘Daredevil’ Teaser At New York Comic-Con Gives First Look At Elektra And The Punisher
Marvel Head of TV Jeph Loeb was joined onstage by Daredevil showrunners Doug Petrie and Marco Ramirez to show never-before-seen footage of the second season of the hit Netflix series during a panel at the New York Comic-Con this weekend. The clip gave Daredevil fans the first look at two iconic characters that are being introduced to the series for the upcoming season: Elektra and Frank Castle, A.K.A. The Punisher, according to Laura Prudom at Variety.
Petrie promised that, with the momentum of the overwhelming success of the first season still propelling them, the series will continue to explore the darker, more gritty aspects of Daredevil’s world.
“We love two things: one of them is Matt Murdock, and the other is the world that Matt Murdock navigates. Last year, Steven DeKnight and Drew Goddard did a great job of introducing that world. This year, we get to test that world, take it further, darker, more emotional.”
Petrie referred to DeKnight and Goddard, Daredevil’s Season 1 showrunners. DeKnight departed the series to join the writers room of the Transformers film franchise, according to Sam Barsanti of the A.V. Club, while Goddard left the series to take the helm of the Marvel Spider-Man spinoff Sinister Six film, according to James White of Empire.
Yung, a French-born Cambodian with a black belt in karate, comes the role of Elektra after appearing in such films as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Bernthal, an alumnus of the Moscow Art Theatre School, becomes the third iteration of The Punisher we have seen in recent years, following Tom Jane’s spin as Marvel’s ultimate anti-hero in 2004, and Ray Stevenson’s portrayal of the character in the 2008 reboot, Punisher: War Zone.
Bernthal spoke to the audience at NYCC about his understanding of the importance of the popular Marvel character to the fan base and about his commitment to giving his all in portrayal of the character.
The casting of Yung and the introduction of Elektra, who had her own dismal feature film adaptation in 2005, to the Marvel Netflix Universe, which closely ties into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, marks a noted shift for Marvel towards strong female characters, which has come following some debate amongst the online community regarding the portrayal of Black Widow in Avengers: Age of Ultron, whereby some lauded the character as a much-needed expansion of the female superhero in the DCU following Captain America: Civil War, while others criticized the character’s portrayal as being too weak or sexualized. Avengers co-stars Jeremy Renner and Chris Evans threw gasoline on that fire while doing press for Age of Ultron, joking, calling the character a “slut.”
The panel also featured the cast of the upcoming Marvel Netflix series Jessica Jones, starring Krysten Ritter of Breaking Bad as Marvel’s superheroine-turned-private detective, which debuts on Netflix next month. As Marisa Hoffman of the Hollywood Reporter reports, the Matrix Trilogy star Carrie-Anne Moss co-stars in Jessica Jones as lawyer and Heroes for Hire head Jeryn Hogarth, who, in the Marvel Comics universe, has always been portrayed as a male.
Moss spoke about her excitement and appreciation for both the writing of the Marvel series and of Ritter’s portrayal of Jones.
“The writing is impeccable, the storyline is so rich. As someone who has embodied that female warrior action, to see Krysten Ritter doing it on another level, I’m thrilled.”
Marvel’s Jessica Jones is set to launch all episodes on Netflix on November 20. The second season of Daredevil began production this past July and is set to launch all episodes on Netflix sometime in 2016.
[Photo Image: Disney / Marvel]
